NO POLICE officer will be tried over the Stockwell shooting, but Scotland Yard is expected to face charges under health and safety laws.

The decision will bring fresh embarrassment for Sir Ian Blair, the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police. A trial at the Old Bailey would air publicly the failings of the operation in which Jean Charles de Menezes died and how the force is run under Sir Ian’s command.

According to Whitehall sources, the Crown Prosecution Service will announce on Monday that Scotland Yard will be prosecuted for failing in its “duty of care” towards Mr de Menezes, a Brazilian who was killed on July 22 last year in a botched counter-terrorist operation. Sir Ian would receive the summons on behalf of the force. He would not be in the dock but he and many other senior officers could face cross-examination.

One senior officer said that such a charge would be “outrageous” and that the Metropolitan Police would fight it furiously in court. Commanders have always maintained that Scotland Yard faced an unprecedented emergency on the day that Mr de Menezes died.

The shooting came a day after four men failed to set off bombs on Underground trains and a bus. Mr de Menezes was mistaken for one of the suspected terrorists and was followed as he left his flat and boarded a bus for Stockwell station. He was shot seven times in the head in an Underground carriage. A successful health and safety prosecution would mean an unlimited fine falling on the police authority, but the de Menezes family will fight any decision not to charge officers.

Yesterday a spokeswoman for the Justice4Jean Family Campaign said that Michael Mansfield, QC, a top criminal counsel, had been retained to apply for a judicial review if there were no criminal charges.

The family see a health and safety charge as a soft option, but the CPS believes that the crux of what happened lies in the failings of the Yard and not individuals. It may also be very difficult to apportion blame for the death and bring a successful prosecution. A health and safety charge would be seen in the CPS as a good compromise.

A report from the Independent Police Complaints Commission to the CPS named 11 officers and discussed potential charges but made no recommendations. It is understood that it said only that the CPS “may wish to consider” manslaughter charges against Commander Cressida Dick, the officer in charge of the firearms tactics, and the two marksmen who killed Mr de Menezes.

During the investigations Ms Dick and the officers were at odds over whether the codeword ordering the use of firearms was given. The IPCC also investigated a change made to Special Branch logs of the surveillance.

A prosecution under the Health and Safety Act 1974 would rest on whether the police had taken all practical and reasonable steps to protect Mr de Menezes.

Several years ago Sir Ian’s predecessor, Lord Stevens of Kirkwhelpington, and Lord Condon, another former commissioner, were prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive over the death of a policeman during a chase across a roof. They were acquitted and the law was changed so that heads of police forces could not be personally charged with health and safety offences as the result of force policies.

Degrees of intent

The Health and Safety Act 1974 would provide the basis for a prosecution against Scotland Yard. Under Section 3 employers, eg, the Met Police, must ensure that not only employees but also non-employees such as the public do not have their health and safety adversely affected by their actions

A manslaughter charge involves killing a person without the intention to kill

Voluntary manslaughter covers killing when an unlawful and dangerous act is directed at the victim without an intention to kill or cause grievous bodily harm

Involuntary manslaughter involves an act of gross negligence or recklessness resulting in death. The criminal act is not directed at an individual. An example would be dropping a brick off a bridge which kills someone. Murder and manslaughter charges against police marksmen have always been rejected by juries, who accept that the officer used reasonable force in the face of a threat

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