LONDON, 25 July 2005 — The Brazilian government has demanded an urgent explanation from Britain following police admission that the man shot dead on the Northern line tube on Friday was an innocent Brazilian electrician, 27 year-old Jean Charles de Menezes, who had no links with the would-be suicide bombers who unsuccessfully tried to explode four bombs on London’s transport system on Thursday.
Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amerim, who happens to be in London for a meeting with Foreign Secretary Jack Straw on UN reforms, said: “Brazil is in total solidarity with Britain in the war against terrorism, but even in the fight against terrorism the police have to be cautious to avoid the loss of innocent life. The public in Brazil are shocked at what happened. It is important to know all the details that led to this tragedy.”
Straw, who was out of the country, is due to meet Amerim on Tuesday, and expressed “deep regret” at the killing of de Menezes and promised a “thorough investigation” into the incident. The foreign secretary has also postponed the start of his holiday because of the security situation in London.
Scotland Yard Police chief Sir Ian Blair apologized to the family of de Menezes and said the shooting “is a tragedy. The Metropolitan Police accepts full responsibility for the incident. I express my deep regret to his family.”
But he defended a policy of shooting to kill suspected suicide bombers.
“I think we are quite comfortable that the policy is right, but of course these are fantastically difficult times,” Sir Ian told Sky Television.
Asked if police instructions were to shoot to kill suspected suicide bombers, he said: “Correct. They have to be that.”
Police met with leaders of the Latin American and Muslim communities in Stockwell in an attempt to explain to them the circumstances that led to Menezes’ shooting.
Police yesterday said they have arrested a third man in connection with Thursday’s explosions. The man was arrested in the Tulse Hill area of south London on Saturday night under anti-terrorism legislation, a police spokesman said. Two other suspects remain in custody, he added.
