Police thought Jean Charles was a bomber

Coroner Sir Michael Wright has decided 49 officers can give evidence from behind a curtain on the grounds that their safety and security would be put at risk if they were identified.[> [> Members of the de Menezes family, including Jean Charles’s mother Maria, will be able to see their faces, but they will be visible to no one else in the coroner’s court. [> SAVE MONEY ON YOUR CAR - CHECK OUT EXPRESS MOTORING... [> Last night Sir Michael was attacked for giving the dispensation to witnesses who could finally say what really happened when Mr de Menezes, 27, was killed at Stockwell Tube station, south London, on July 22, 2005.[>

[> Asad Rehman, the spokesman for the de Menezes family, said: “This was a terrible decision, an absolute disgrace. Justice has to be seen to be done by everyone who is interested in the death of an innocent man. Far from a search for the truth and justice, this will be a mechanism to protect the individual officers.”[> [> So far there are no plans for Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair to give evidence at the hearing which starts tomorrow at the Oval cricket ground in Kennington, south London. [>

[> Sir Michael will spend the first day swearing in the 11-strong jury, but plans are being made for a demonstration outside the building to reflect concerns about how the inquest is being conducted. [> [> Sir Michael received individual requests from officers seeking anonymity on the grounds that if they became known they would not be able to do their jobs. Two of those granted anonymity are the officers who shot Mr de Menezes seven times.[> [> Cressida Dick, who ran the operations room at Scotland Yard at the time of the shooting and later became deputy assistant commissioner, will not give evidence from behind a screen.[>

[> Mr Rehman said: “The most important thing is that for the first time we will hear from the firearms officers. [> [> “One of our great concerns is the fact that police officers sat down together and agreed a version of events and that version of events is what they put in their statements. For the first time we will also hear from the passengers on the Tube carriage. Jean cannot speak but individuals on the Tube could paint a very different picture of the actions of the officers. This will be dynamite.”[>

[> He said Scotland Yard’s controversial shoot-to-kill policy, codenamed Operation Kratos, will come under intense scrutiny.[> [> He added: “We will understand how the policy came about, who was responsible for it and get to the very question of its legality.”[> [> Jean Charles was put under surveillance and then shot because officers believed he might be one of the 21/7 failed Tube bombers.[>

[> Mr Rehman believes that although Sir Ian Blair will not give evidence he will be a central figure in the inquest. He said: “As Commissioner he bears responsibility for all the actions on the day and the information that was put into the public domain. [> [> “The family hope there will be an unlawful killing verdict. If that happens the Crown Prosecution Service must consider if criminal charges could be brought against officers.”[> [> Last November the Met was convicted of a “catastrophic” series of errors surrounding the shooting in a health and safety case. It was fined £175,000 and ordered to pay £385,000 costs. [>