Menezes police will not be punished

Relatives of Jean Charles de Menezes were told today that police officers involved in the fatal shooting will not face punishment.

Solicitors acting on their behalf had called on the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) to reconsider if disciplinary action is necessary.

The family of the 27-year-old Brazilian said fresh evidence about the circumstances of his death at Stockwell Tube station, in south London, emerged at an inquest last year.

Mr de Menezes was shot dead on June 22, 2005 by Scotland Yard firearms officers who mistook him for wanted failed suicide bomber Hussain Osman.

The IPCC decision follows a review of the mass of evidence and paperwork created by the three-month inquest last year.

A similar move was made by officials at the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) who reconsidered whether criminal charges could be brought.

An IPCC spokesman said: "The IPCC has today advised lawyers acting for Jean Charles de Menezes' family, the Metropolitan Police and the Metropolitan Police Authority that it will stand by its decision not to recommend disciplinary actions against the officers involved in the fatal shooting of Mr de Menezes in July 2005.

"The IPCC had reviewed its original decision in the light of the inquest into Mr de Menezes' death which concluded in December 2008.

"The review was undertaken at the request of Mr de Menezes' family and followed a review by the Crown Prosecution Service of its own decisions after the inquest.

"In making this decision, the IPCC has carefully considered the family's representations, the evidence identified by its own investigation and all subsequent legal proceedings."

The shooting of Mr de Menezes provoked a series of wide-ranging inquiries that hauled police tactics, supervision and individual decisions over the coals.

Coroner Sir Michael Wright recorded an open verdict at the end of a multi-million pound inquest last year after a jury rejected the police account of the shooting.

Officials have considered whether a large number of police officers should consider a range of disciplinary charges in the wake of the shooting.

These included the two marksmen who shot Mr de Menezes dead and several senior officers who were responsible for the operation.

Among them was Cressida Dick, now an assistant commissioner and the most senior woman officer at Scotland Yard.

The inquest highlighted a series of police failings, most obviously the failure to correctly identify Mr de Menezes.

Senior officers also came under the spotlight over the tactics for capturing Osman, ineffective communication and poor tactical decisions.

Frontline officers who stormed the Tube carriage were also accused of falsely claiming to shout "armed police".

After the inquest, the de Menezes family called for perjury charges against officers who said they shouted a warning.

Mr de Menezes' family continue to campaign for a permanent memorial on the exterior wall of Stockwell tube station.

An agreement is expected to be reached later this year between them and Scotland Yard over compensation.

A technical challenge at the European Court concerning the laws when someone is killed by representatives of the state is ongoing.