15 Aug 2014

Menezes campaign mentioned in undercover officers’ files

The Met has found five references to the justice campaign for Jean Charles De Menezes in the secret files of undercover police officers.

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The family and supporters were given the news during a two and a half hour meeting today with investigators handling the inquiry into 40 years of covert policing by a unit known as the Special Demonstration Squad.

They were one of 18 groups of families and supporters involved in campaigning against the Met over the death of a relative or friend, who became victims of what police call “collateral intrusion” over the decades.

Mr de Menezes, a Brazilian electrician, was shot dead by police in 2005 at Stockwell tube station in the mistaken belief he was a suicide bomber.

On Friday the family lawyer Harriet Wistrich said the Met admitted there was inappropriate record keeping but did not disclose the details of the information uncovered.

The family has asked for further inquiries to determine if there’s more information that was secretly recorded under specific names.

A recent report by Operation Herne found there was a failure of leadership in the Met which allowed the unit to continue gathering and hording information that had nothing to do with preventing crime.

The Met has apologised for the distress suffered by the families who were “spied on”.

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