DeMenezes Inquest Moves To Apply The Final Coat Of Whitewash

So after the coroner did not allow a verdict of unlawful killing to be considered, the family walked out, they appealed to the high court, the appeal was turned down, the legal team for the DeMenezes family then withdrew. The family staged a protest at the inquest-

Sir Michael opened proceedings by telling the 11 jurors that the de Menezes family’s legal team, headed by Michael Mansfield QC, would no longer be attending the hearings.

“The first thing you will notice is that Mr Mansfield, Miss [Henrietta] Hill and their instructing solicitors are no longer in their places,” the coroner said. “The evidence and legal submissions are now all over and we have had their assistance throughout these very important stages.

“I understand that from this point they will no longer be here. There is absolutely no difficulty about that. No disrespect is meant by it to anyone.”

At that point the five family members, who were sitting at the back of the court, stood up and removed their coats. They stood silently, revealing white T-shirts with large black lettering, for a few moments as startled court staff watched uncertainly.

The relatives then walked from their seats towards the jury box. Court ushers and security guards hurried forward, intercepted them and ushered the group out of the courtroom through a side door.

The family then issued a statement-

“Today the family both here and in Brazil instructed our lawyers to withdraw from the inquest proceedings. We do this with deep regret and frustration but we feel we have been left with no alternative.

For three and a half years we have had one simple request, that all the evidence be put in front of the jury and for them to be allowed to decide.

We have faced a system which has repeatedly blocked, silenced and stopped all the avenues we have tried in order to get justice. And now we face the situation that after three months, 100 witnesses and a cost of £3 million pounds, the jury is being restricted from considering all the options. We have full confidence in the jury to return a verdict that will deliver justice for Jean. The jury have the legal right to return any verdict they want to and we hope that these 11 ordinary members of the public will do the right thing.

Jean loved living in Britain. One of the reasons he would tell me why liked this country was because it was the home of justice and fairness. We would like to thank the British public for all their support, especially over the last few days.

We do not want any other family to go through what we have gone through. Unless there is justice, the tragic death of Jean could so easily be repeated. Our campaign for justice continues and we hope the jury will do the right thing.”

Now after deliberating for four days the coroner is saying he will accept a majority verdict and has imposed a questionnaire on the jurors, spot the leading questions-

Sir Michael previously took the unconventional step of issuing a “questionnaire” relating to the circumstances surrounding the incident.

After choosing between lawful killing or an open verdict, the jurors must decide:

* Did officer C12 shout the words “armed police” at Mr de Menezes before firing?

* Did Mr de Menezes stand up from his seat before he was grabbed in a bear hug by officer Ivor?

* Did Mr de Menezes move towards C12 before he was grabbed in a bear hug by officer Ivor?

In other words questions that reiterate the police testimony and like the Fox news trick by adding the trusty question mark – Hey I was just asking, little ole innocent butter-wouldn’t-melt me.

I’ll tell ya, If I ever wanted to commit murder I’d want this guy as my friend on the bench, in fact with him in place I’d not even have to waste money on a defence team. But I would guess he does not put out like this for anyone but the big lovely British establishment.

PS. And good to see how honourable the top cop was-

Former Metropolitan police chief Sir Ian Blair was a “cheerleader” for the Labour government who used the cash for honours scandal to secure his position during the de Menezes affair, according Britain’s former top-ranking Asian officer.