The mother of Jean Charles de Menezes today called for Sir Ian Blair to resign as she retraced her son's final steps, from his flat to the Underground station where he was shot dead by police who mistook him for a suicide bomber.

Maria de Menezes collapsed into the arms of her cousin as she was shown the posters, cards and messages which adorn a makeshift shrine to the 27-year-old Brazilian electrician at Stockwell station.

"Look what they’ve done to my son," she wailed. Accompanied by her husband Matozinhos, son Giovani and their cousin Alex, she was then taken inside.

The group were led past the security barriers over which Jean Charles was wrongly said to have leapt, to the escalator down which police originally claimed that he scrambled. In fact, it now seems likely that he walked calmly down the escalator, still unaware that he was being pursued.

Finally the group were shown platform two, where he boarded a waiting train, before being restrained by armed police and shot seven times in the head.

There, they stood in silence for a moment imagining the terror and shock of his last moments.

They emerged 20 minutes later, at 12.45pm. Mrs de Menezes was tearful and being comforted by relatives. Other family members were also embracing. The human rights activist Bianca Jagger approached them and introduced herself. They posed for photographers before being led to a car and driven away.

In an emotional interview, Mrs de Menezes told the BBC that Sir Ian Blair had failed in his duty to protect her son. Asked if he should resign, she replied through an interpreter: "He should certainly resign."

The de Menezes family have never before left their remote Brazilian village. They have made the visit, funded by the Met, with the combined aims of coming to terms with their son's death and continuing to apply pressure for justice.

As they flew into Britain from Rio de Janeiro yesterday, more details were emerging of the botched operation which led to the death. It now seems likely that police realised that they had shot an innocent man as soon as they checked the identification in his wallet. But their concerns were not confirmed until an official statement was made 24 hours later.

The family is campaigning for the officers involved in the operation, which was carried out the day after the failed July 21 suicide bomb attacks on London, to be put on trial.

Earlier this morning, the relatives looked tearful as they arrived at the flat where their son lived in Tulse Hill, south London. They were introduced to local shopkeepers who knew Mr de Menezes as, following in his footsteps, they made their way to the bus stop about half-a-mile from his flat.

The family were then driven in a black people carrier to Stockwell station where the ranks of photographers, cameramen and reporters had been marshalled behind a police cordon.

The iron grille of the station was closed behind them as the group went to the spot where their son was killed. They examined CCTV cameras along the platform, expressing confusion about why the shooting apparently was not caught on tape.

Speaking outside the station, RMT union leader Bob Crow said it had been an emotional visit. "London Underground was very co-operative in showing them around. They don’t trust the Met. They didn’t want the Metropolitan Police here at all," he said.

He added that it had been a "sympathetic" meeting between the family and Tube staff. "They wanted to see where their son, their brother, their cousin, was killed."

Mrs de Menezes earlier told reporters: "He was a hard-working boy. They destroyed his life and at the same time destroyed mine. They had time to identify who it was."

The de Menezes family are expected to hold talks tomorrow with the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) - which is investigating the killing. They may also meet with Sir Ian, the Metropolice Police Commissioner, who indicated last week that he may resign if he is heavily criticised in the IPCC report, due before the end of the year.

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