Resign? No. It was a tragic mistake, but let's not forget the emotions and fears prevalent at that time. Do away with the lies, face the truth and learn from it, so the same thing doesn't happen again. Richard Mew, Guildford

Ian Blair's resignation will not bring back anyone. No personal culpability has yet been proved, that is the job of IPCC. The prejudgement of their enquiry by Tim Hames smacks of a personal vendetta against Ian Blair. We continue to face terrorist threats and the one thing we need is continuity of leadership. The UK do not need any lectures on police conduct from the Brazilians or anyone in the USA - how many of their officers have been disciplined after police brutality in those countries? The officers concerned continue to face real likelihood of criminal charges. John Latchford, Isleworth

The “end” does not necessarily justify the “means”. We all want to be safe and secure. I, for one, do not want to be safe and secure if the price to be paid is acceptance of the loss of human rights for some. Those who enforce the laws must also be governed by the laws they seek to enforce. No one can be above the law. The officers involved in the killing seem to have rushed to judgment - summarily convicting that young man and sentencing him to death. Before condemning Sir Ian, all the facts need to be disclosed. The facts will dictate his fate. Robert Mack Massillon, Ohio

I believe the call for Sir Ian Blair to resign should be based upon the attempt to cover up the mistake and block an independent enquiry, not the issue of the shooting itself. It appears that the shooting of an innocent man was down to police incompetence, which is clearly a terrible tragedy and needs much investigation to ensure that it doesn't happen again. However, accidents do happen and we must remember that these policemen are human and were under extreme pressure at the time due to the recent bombings and bombing attempts. The question here should be, can we go on trusting Sir Ian after a blatant attempt to withhold the truth from the nation? Natalie Wehden, Nottingham

In England at the time the bombings occurred, I felt that at the heart of this is the lack of honest dealings with the public by the police, the media and the Labour government. There is already a climate of "it's OK to mislead the public, they won't know the difference". Actually they are remarkably canny and they do know. Tributes today on Mo Mowlam and previous ones on Robin Cook show the British people are thirsting for honesty and know when they get it. This is a leadership problem and needs to be addressed at that level. Eventually the British people will find a way to hold their current leaders accountable. F Ross, Vancouver, Canada

Clearly, the promise of a new era of police accountability and openness has been badly broken by Sir Ian Blair. What is rather more disturbing is that the Commissioner believes that anti-terrorism policing requires abandonment of some fundamental principles of human rights and of limitations on police power. In that, probably he is supported by the current political leadership. It is up to the people of Britain to re-assert those basic principles which we had all taken for granted. A change of policy and direction, not merely of personnel, is urgently needed to inhibit the totalitarian trends discernible in Britain these days. Martin Maldwin-Edwards, Athens, Greece

The Independent Police Complaints Commission has shown its independence and we should all wait for the investigation to be completed. We should give the Commissioner the benefit of any doubt as he has given exceptional service to the police service up to this point. William Cornell, Yorba Linda, California

This is a blatant cover-up by the Met. A life was taken in its prime. There must be accountability and Sir Ian's actions in the aftermath of the shooting has left his integrity, honesty and leadership in question. He must go. Shoba Pala-Krishnan, New York, USA

For someone in Sir Ian Blair's position to impede an investigation into a fatality caused by police incompetence is despicable and he should resign. The officers involved should have criminal charges brought against them. Such trigger-happy behaviour from our guardians of law and order is possibly more frightening than the activities of a handful of suicide bombers. Arthur Jacob, St Austell

Police and anti-terrorist operations must be allowed a considerable latitude in the modus operandi, subject to overall approval of the Government via the Home Office. The "buck stops at the top" is a fine generalisation; but in this case the Metropolitan Police Commissioner should not be the target. Rather the Operational Chief Officer and his immediate team should be disciplined, perhaps by way of a loss of seniority. They were the executive officers and they should carry the can for a clear case of misjudgement. Name and address withheld

I think Ian Blair should resign because when he tried to block the independent inquiry he admitted that there had been errors. Deliberately trying to conceal these serious errors may be even worse than the errors themselves. Also, criminal charges should be brought against all the officers involved because, first, they didn't stop de Menezes before he entered the station; second, they killed an innocent man; and third, they also hid the true facts after the story was published. Name and address withheld