Letter from MPA to the Editor of the Guardian

The following is a letter sent by the MPA Chair, to the Editor of the Guardian newspaper regarding 'No Justice for Jean Charles' (Comment, 3 August) published in the Guardian.

4 August 2007

Dear Sir,

I write in response to the article in the Guardian yesterday by the family members of Jean Charles de Menezes. I doubt if his family will ever be satisfied by the outcome of an official inquiry into his tragic death and why should they be? Any one who has ever lost a loved one under such circumstances would never be satisfied because their loss is irreplaceable.

What I can do is give my personal assurances to them, and to Londoners, that the Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA) is an independent organisation and has taken swift action in response to his death. The report does not make comfortable reading either for the MPA or the Met. Mistakes were made and the Commissioner has apologised for these. I have called for a special meeting of the Authority for 6 September to receive a further report from the Commissioner concerning the IPCC report and its recommendations.

That said, over the two years since this tragedy the MPA has demonstrated that it holds the Met to account transparently and rigorously. We have publicly scrutinised the strategy for responding to the threat of suicide terrorism 'Operation Kratos', examined the MPS media and communications policies, and overseen a review of internal operational communications systems - the very issues raised in the IPCC report. As a result, the Met and how it carries out its duties and responsibilities is in a very different place from July 2005.

There is a separate procedure laid down in law for the Authority to consider and determine whether any senior officer should face disciplinary proceedings for misconduct. These proceedings are now underway. Because of my involvement at meetings covered by the IPCC report I will have no part to play. Whilst I know the family are pressing for a resolution of outstanding issues they will need to understand that this process is not a quick one and the next stage of the process is not likely to be reached until the autumn.

The MPA agreed to fund the initial stages of a judicial review for Met officers and staff on the grounds that they were subjected to procedural unfairness and consequently at risk of being wrongly criticised in the report. We did this because of our duty as an employer and in accordance with Home Office guidelines. Again I had no involvement in this decision because of my involvement in the past.

Although I do understand the sentiments of the family, it would have been odd if I had not sat next to the Commissioner at the press conference. People need to understand the MPA has a dual role. It is an employer and holds senior officers to account and at the same time supports the men and women working at different levels within the Met tackling crime in a very challenging environment The Authority’s priority, and my personal priority, is the safety and security of Londoners and to ensure that the Met does not repeat the mistakes of the past.

Len Duvall OBE, AM
Chair, Metropolitan Police Authority

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