|
|
|
|
|
Met chief warning on Menezes prosecution London Telegraph / John Steele | July 28 2006 The prosecution of the Metropolitan Police on health and safety grounds over the shooting dead of an innocent Brazilian in an anti-terrorist operation could have "very significant" implications for everyday policing, the Commissioner, Sir Ian Blair, warned yesterday. Sir Ian said the case, involving the death of 27-year-old Jean Charles de Menezes, could prove to be a "fundamental turning point" for British policing and its traditional approach to risk-taking. He questioned whether such far-reaching implications were intended by those who had drawn up the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, under which the Met is being prosecuted. He made his comments to a meeting of the Metropolitan Police Authority, the members of which agreed to write to the Attorney General questioning the decision to bring the health and safety case. Sir Ian said: "If this health and safety prosecution goes ahead it will be a fundamental turning point in policing. This goes right to the heart of the policing mission, mandate, the nature of risk-taking and the nature of assessing risks beforehand. "I am not sure that was the design of the legislators in 1974 and it will be a matter that the courts will have to decide because the implications for everyday policing will be very significant." He rejected suggestions that his force was guilty of a "total system failure" in relation to the death of Mr de Menezes, who was shot on a Tube train at Stockwell station in south London on July 22 last year. ---------------------------------------------------
Prison Planet.tv: The Premier Multimedia Subscription Package: Download and Share the Truth! Please help our fight against the New World Order by giving a donation. As bandwidth costs increase, the only way we can stay online and expand is with your support. Please consider giving a monthly or one-off donation for whatever you can afford. You can pay securely by either credit card or Paypal. Click here to donate. |
