A cousin of Jean Charles de Menezes told the inquest into his death today that the young Brazilian had always found British police officers "very polite".

Alex Pereira, 31, a key figure in the Justice4Jean campaign, said his cousin had been stopped four times by police, including once when he was riding a motorcylce on Park Lane.

Mr Pereira said: "We come from Brazil and it is very common for police to stop people there and even police carry a gun in Brazil so it does not scare us. Why would he be scared of the police?"

Mr de Menezes, 27, was shot seven times in the head by armed police who mistakenly believed he was a suicide bomber in July 2005.

His cousin was giving evidence on behalf of the de Menezes family on the third day of the inquest at Southwark Coroner's Court, sitting in special session at The Oval cricket ground.

Mr Pereira said the two men grew up together in a rural village in south-east Brazil. Because the village had no electricity supply, Mr de Menezes had been determined from a young age to be an electrician.

Mr Pereira said Mr de Menezes travelled to Sao Paulo when he was 16-years-old to earn money on a chicken farm.

"He was a guy that liked to learn and he fought to make life better because he came from a place where everything is very difficult," said Mr Pereira.

"It has become better now but at the time it was very, very hard and since he was a little boy he studied to become an electrician."

Mr Pereira said Mr de Menezes travelled to London after he was refused a United States visa. Once in Britain he sent money home to support his family and girlfriend Adriana, who had a child from a previous relationship.

He said his cousin thought living abroad "would bring a better life for everybody".

Mr Pereira said: "He studied hard and learned English quickly. He was prepared to do any work initially.

"But he was pleased when he found work as an electrician. He was very ambitious and worked very hard but he still enjoyed life. He was very happy in England and I thought he would like to stay here permanently, eventually." Mr Pereira said he was shocked to learn that traces of cocaine, indicating recent usage, had been found in Mr de Menezes bloodstream after his death.

The inquest jury was also shown video footage of Mr de Menezes's last journey - taken from CCTV cameras along his route.

It heard that a surveillance officer outside his flat failed to film Mr de Menezes because he was urinating in a bottle and that there was no recording from the platforms at Stockwell Underground station because someone had stepped on a vital cable two days before.

The inquest continues.

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