British Police Kills suspect with no links with bombings
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I disagree. I consider the HRA 98 to be a very important act and imo to repeal that act would not be an indefensible erosion of civil liberties and human rights. It would also be unneccessary.Originally posted by kym:When the Blair Government passed the Human Rights Act, it became much harder either to imprison undesirable foreigners or to deport them. As a result, authorities can no longer take crucial decisions affecting security. They have allowed themselves to be overruled by legal constraint of foreign origin. Given all that, MI5 would hardly be popular with ministers if it recommended the arrest of everyone who might come under suspicion. The only desirable legal change is the repeal of the Human Rights Act, so that Home Secretaries regain the power to exclude undesirable aliens.
I think that you are overestimating the effect and the power of the HRA. As far as i can remember, its main effect is to impose a duty on the courts to, as far as is possible, interpret legislation in such a way as to be compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights. That means that parliament can circumvent the HRA via express wording if it so wishes. This makes repealing of the HRA unnecc. -
Update: 17 Aug 2005
(Source: BBC News Website)
Leak disputes Menezes death story
Leaked documents appear to contradict the official account of how police mistook a Brazilian man for a suicide bomber and shot him.
The documents, from the probe into the death of Jean Charles de Menezes and leaked to ITV news, suggest the he was restrained before shot by officers.
Mr de Menezes was killed at Stockwell Tube station on 22 July.
The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) has said it will not comment on its investigation.
Public inquiry
The documents, including witness statements, also suggest Mr de Menezes did not hurdle the barrier at Stockwell tube station, as first reports previously suggested, and was not wearing a padded jacket that could have concealed a bomb.
The family of Mr de Menezes has called for a public inquiry into his death.
His cousin Allessandro Pereira said: "My family deserve the full truth about his murder. The truth cannot be hidden any longer. It has to be made public."
In a statement, the IPCC said it does not know where the documents came from and that its priority was to keep Mr de Menezes family informed.
'Acting suspiciously'
The shooting occurred the day after the failed bomb attacks of 21 July.
The latest documents suggest Mr de Menezes had walked into Stockwell Tube station, picked up a free newspaper, walked through ticket barriers, had started to run when he saw a train arriving and was sitting down in a train when he was shot.
In the immediate aftermath of the incident, police said Mr de Menezes had been acting suspiciously and suggested he had vaulted the ticket barriers.
Police also said the Brazilian electrician had worn a large winter-style coat - but the leaked version suggested he had in fact worn a denim jacket.
The leaked version said Mr de Menezes was being restrained by a community officer when he was shot by armed police.
'High security'
The IPCC would not comment on the details of the leak.
The commission said the family "will clearly be distressed that they have received information on television concerning his death".
Its statement added: "The IPCC made it clear that we would not speculate or release partial information about the investigation, and that others should not do so. That remains the case."
The commission said it operated a "very high degree of security" on all of its investigations.
'Great embarrassment'
Harriet Wistrich, solicitor for the family of Mr de Mendes, said the information the leaked documents contained was "terrifying".
"What sort of society are we living in where we can execute suspects?" she said.
"First of all it tells us that the information that was first put out, which was first reported in the news, is almost entirely wrong and misleading.
"There was no suggestion that this person was a suspect in any way, that he was running from the police".
She said it also suggested the information given to the pathologist who carried out the post-mortem examination on Mr de Mendez was incorrect.
Former Flying Squad commander John O'Connor told the BBC the leaked report would cause "great embarrassment" to Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair, adding he would be under pressure to "go".
He also said it was "very difficult" to blame individuals for the death of Mr de Menezes.
"Simply because it would appear that they were acting on information that this was a positive identification of Osman [Hussain], one of the suspect bombers.
"But had the normal procedures taken place in which a warning is given and officers wear specially marked clothing then this young man may not have been killed." -
Doesn't look good for the Met police...