Menezes police 'under pressure'

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Police officers following Jean Charles de Menezes were under "undue pressure" to identify him as a suicide bomber, an inquest into his death has heard.

Det Ch Insp Greg Purser said officers had faced an "appalling dilemma" the day the Brazilian was shot by police marksmen at Stockwell Tube station.

He said he would have preferred a day in which to make the decisions which had been made in a couple of hours.

Police mistook Mr de Menezes, 27, for a failed 21 July 2005 London bomber.

He was shot dead on 22 July after police hunting failed bombing suspect Hussain Osman trailed him to South London underground station from a block of flats in Scotia Road, Tulse Hill.

The engineer was shot seven times in the head after boarding a train.

'Short time'

Det Ch Insp Purser, a senior officer on the ground, told the inquest at the Oval cricket ground: "We put undue pressure potentially on surveillance officers and then potentially on firearms teams.

"We had an enormous task that morning. To try and take the operation to the level we would have liked would possibly have taken a day.

Without the surveillance team and the firearms team - and their bravery and professional ability - we would just not be able to function. That is a fact of life Det Ch Insp Greg Purser

"We were trying to do it in a short time. It's extremely difficult sir.

"We ask so much of our surveillance teams and we ask much of our firearms teams."

When asked if officers were "damned if they did, and damned if they did not", he responded: "That appears to be my life, sir."

Det Ch Insp Purser rejected suggestions he had ignored officers' anxiety during a briefing meeting before Mr de Menezes was fatally shot.

"Perhaps I did not pick up on their concerns but I honestly believe that I gave a balanced and honest briefing," he said, describing the meeting as "very sombre".

'Mr Average'

He later choked back tears as he paid tribute to the "bravery" of surveillance and firearms officers.

"Without the surveillance team and the firearms team - their bravery and professional ability - we would just not be able to function. That is a fact of life."

The senior detective went on to describe himself as "Mr Average" - and said he "wasn't on his best" after seeing Mr de Menezes's body.

"I have seen a lot of dead bodies but this was the first one that was close to me," he said.

He insisted the other members of his team were "exceptional" that day, particularly commending Deputy Assistant Commissioner Cressida Dick, who was responsible for the police operation that day.

The inquest continues.