London's police force guilty of breaking health and safety laws

An Old Bailey jury has today found London's police force guilty of breaking health and safety laws over the fatal shooting of Brazilian Jean Charles de Menezes.

Mr de Menezes was shot seven times in Stockwell Underground in July 2005 and the Old Bailey found that the Metropolitan Police unnecessarily put the public at risk by chasing a suspected suicide bomber across the city.

The entire force was tried after prosecutors said that no individual officer could be held responsible for the death of the electrician.

Prosecutor, Clare Montgomery QC told the jury that Scotland Yard commanders had made a string of errors on July 22 that posed risk to the public and led to the death of Mr de Menezes.

She highlighted a number of mistakes, including that the firearms teams were both poorly briefed and in the wrong locations and that senior officers failed to keep to the agreed plan.

The Met commented that the commanders and officers on the ground did all they could to apprehend the bombers and minimise the risks to the public.

David Urpeth from Irwin Mitchell Solicitors commented: "Whilst the police sometimes have a difficult job, there are occasions like this, where they act unreasonably and have to be brought to account for those actions. Sadly, we represent many people who have suffered unlawfully at the hands of the police."

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