UK NEWS

MET CHIEF BLAIR REFUSES TO RESIGN

The Lib Dems have called Sir Ian Blair to resign

Thursday November 1,2007

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Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair refused to resign in the wake of the verdict.

He expressed his "deep regret" for the "tragedy" of the innocent Brazilian Jean Charles de Menezes's death.

But he insisted it was an "isolated breach" under "extraordinary circumstances" and gave his backing for all officers involved in counter-terrorism.

Sir Ian said he would now consider whether of the Met's operational procedures needed to be altered in the light of the verdict.

Speaking outside the Old Bailey, he told reporters: "As the judge noted, the failures alleged were not sustained or repeated.

"This case thus provides no evidence at all of systematic failure by the Metropolitan Police.

"And I therefore intend to continue to lead the Met in its increasingly successful efforts to reduce crime and deter and disrupt terrorist activities in London and elsewhere in the United Kingdom."

The Liberal Democrats called for the resignation of Sir Ian after his force was found guilty of breaching health and safety laws over the shooting of innocent Brazilian Jean Charles de Menezes.

Home affairs spokesman Nick Clegg said: "This guilty verdict makes it unavoidable that Ian Blair should take responsibility on behalf of his whole organisation and resign."

But Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said Sir Ian had her "full confidence".

WHO BENEFITS FROM THE FINE IMPOSED OF MET POLICE?

02.11.07, 2:55pm

The largest group in Parliament are lawyers, they draft and pass the laws, so who do the think always wins in legal proceedings? The lawyers.

Re this case: How was he was shoot? When I was authorised to carry a gun in the Met Police, Detectives were career detectives. It was my decision whether to shoot (that always in effect meant shoot to kill as that is the only way one can stop a person from using a firearm or detonating a bomb). It was also my responsibly to justify what I did if I shot someone and if I had got it wrong, it was me who would have appeared in court.

Now they have ‘rapid promotion’ officers being called detectives but who have almost no CID experience, making literally life taking decisions from remote desks in headquarters . Rather like making a GP one day into a brain surgeon the next, allowing him to direct a brain operation on a telephone line, and wondering why their patients die.

Whilst I accept the police got this badly wrong, we have not had a number of answers, including: What was De Menenez doing in UK, he was illegally there. Who supplied the cocaine found in his blood, where did get his professionally forged passport and who paid for it, who did he work for, where did the funds for his living expenses come from, did he send money to his family if so where did that come from? If the bulky pockets claim was true, what was in the pockets. Was it possible that the police had been set up to follow him by some overt organisation?

I am sure there are a lot more questions too including, who was de Menenez’s solicitor? Answer: Gareth Peirce.

It seems strange that a 'regular non descript illegal immigrant' would come to employ such a high profile solicitor with a track record of representing persons accused of terrorist related offences. I wonder who instructed her and who was paying!

Quote from Wikipedia :
Gareth Peirce (born c. 1940) is a British solicitor. She discarded her birth name of "Jean" when she was quite young, taking "Gareth" as her legal name. She is noted for taking on controversial cases, including high profile human rights issues. Her clients include the Birmingham Six, the Guildford Four, former MI5 operative David Shayler, Abu Qatada (who has been called 'Europe's Al-Qaeda Ambassador'), Judith Ward, the family of Jean Charles de Menezes, Mozzam Begg and Bisher Amin Khalil al-Rawi, a detainee at the Guantanamo Bay detainment camp