Davis rebuked over de Menezes probe
David Davis is rebuked for interfering in IPCC probe into the de Menezes shooting
Wednesday, 21, Jun 2006 12:00
Shadow home secretary David Davis has been rebuked by the head of the Metropolitan police authority (MPA) for interfering in the inquiry into the shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes.
Mr Davis wrote to the home secretary earlier this week urging him to "instruct" the Met commissioner, Ian Blair, and his senior officers to make themselves available for interview by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC).
The letter was prompted by reports in last weekend's newspapers that the watchdog's investigation into the fatal shooting of the innocent Brazilian by police last July was being held up by their inability to question two senior officers.
However, today MPA chairman Len Duvall has written back to Mr Davis rebuking him for believing everything he reads in the newspapers and insisting there was no question of Sir Ian delaying the IPCC investigation.
"I am surprised that someone who has been involved in politics as long as you have should believe everything you read in the newspapers," he wrote.
"In fact the article in question went on to make it clear that the IPCC have confirmed their investigations are not, and have not been, held up by the timing of any outstanding interviews.
"The investigation is complex and must be thorough. I understand that waiting for the outcome is stressful both for the family and friends of Mr de Menezes and for the officers involved.
"However, I am confident that the availability of Sir Ian and his senior colleagues, all of whom are co-operating fully with the IPCC, is not holding up progress."
In his letter, Mr Davis said that if the reports of police officers holding up the investigation were true, it would be an "unacceptable delay for an inexplicable reason".
"Would you instruct the chief of the Metropolitan police to make himself and his senior officers available for interview by the IPPC forthwith so that both reports can be available for publication and put into the public domain as soon as possible?" he asked John Reid.
Leaked versions of the IPPC report suggest Sir Ian will face criticism for blocking the commission's investigations in the first days after the shooting of Mr de Menezes at Stockwell underground station in south London on July 22nd.
The Met chief has also come under fire recently for the raid by 250 officers on a house in east London last month, in which one man was shot. Both the injured man and his brother were arrested for terrorist-related offences, but have since been released without charge.