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Brazil envoy: No shooting cover-up
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QUICKVOTEYOUR E-MAIL ALERTSLONDON, England (CNN) -- Brazil's ambassador has said he believes there was no cover-up by British officials in the fatal police shooting of a Brazilian man mistaken for a terrorist on the London Tube. When asked about a cover-up, Ambassador Jose Mauricio Bustani told a London news conference Tuesday: "No, at this point, no. ... At the moment, we don't have any reason whatsoever to assume that." Jean Charles de Menezes was shot seven times in the head and once in the shoulder by police officers on July 22, the day after attempted bombings on London's transport network. Earlier Tuesday, Britain's police watchdog agency promised to deliver a report by the end of the year on the shooting. "No one would expect an investigation like this to be hurried," Richard Latham, an attorney representing the Independent Police Complaints Commission, told a brief hearing at a coroner's inquest. The court inquiry into the killing of de Menezes was adjourned until February. Meanwhile, two Brazilian legal officials continued Tuesday to mount inquiries in London into the circumstances surrounding the killing of the 27-year-old. On Monday night, Wagner Goncalves of the Federal Prosecutor's Office and Marcio Pereira Pinto Garcia of the Ministry of Justice met Metropolitan Police Commissioner Ian Blair, who has come under pressure over the shooting at Stockwell Tube station in south London. The Brazilian officials were expected to meet representatives from the IPCC, possibly later Tuesday. CNN's Mallika Kapur says the officials were seeking answers to the many questions they have about the electrician's death. Monday night's meeting at Scotland Yard, chaired by Deputy Assistant Commissioner John Yates, was described by police as "positive and constructive." It came as the Jean Charles de Menezes Family Campaign group held a vigil and demonstration outside Prime Minister Tony Blair's Downing Street residence Monday evening, a month since the Brazilian's death. In a statement, Scotland Yard said it had briefed de Menezes' family in Britain -- his cousins -- two days after the shooting. Officers told them that contrary to earlier reports, de Menezes had not run into the Tube station, had not been wearing a padded jacket and that he had not vaulted the ticket barrier, a spokesman said. A similar briefing was given to Brazilian consulate officials the following day. Much of the criticism of Scotland Yard in the last week has been based on claims it did not do enough to correct the apparently misleading initial reports of the shooting, which suggested that de Menenez had behaved like a fleeing suspect. Blair backedThe controversy over de Menezes's death was reignited last week when leaked documents appeared to contradict earlier police and witness accounts of the incident. It was revealed over the weekend that Commissioner Blair did not know his officers had shot an innocent man -- after mistaking him for one of the failed London bombers of July 21 -- until 24 hours after he was killed. Scotland Yard also has come under fire for offering de Menezes' family in Brazil a £15,000 payment in a complex legal letter written in English, when they speak only Portuguese. The offer was made during a visit to Brazil by Scotland Yard's Yates. In Monday night's statement, Scotland Yard said the purpose of the visit had been to offer an apology in person and to provide the family with details of "initial funds" that would be made available to assist them. As Monday night's meeting was taking place, de Menezes' cousin Alessandro Pereira visited Downing Street to call for a full public inquiry into the shooting. Surrounded by scores of reporters and photographers as he handed in his letter to No. 10, the Brazilian read from a prepared statement demanding answers about his cousin's death. "I have just handed a letter to the British Prime Minister Tony Blair on behalf of the family both here and in Brazil," he said. "I am calling on him to make sure that those responsible for the murder of Jean are brought to justice. "The family also calls for a full public inquiry into all the circumstances into the death of my cousin including the shoot to kill policy and the lies we have been told by the Metropolitan Police. "Every day we discover more and more lies. We have heard too many, we simply demand truth and justice." Around 200 supporters gathered outside Number 10 to hold their vigil. Commissioner Blair won the backing of the prime minister Sunday evening, despite growing calls for a public inquiry and his resignation. A memorial Mass was being held Tuesday evening at the Brazilian Chaplaincy at St. Anne's Church in east London. Meanwhile, the sister of a woman killed in the July 7 Tube bombings told the UK's Press Association that the furore over the de Menezes shooting is undermining the fight against terrorism. Dania Gorodi warned that calls for the resignation of Commissioner Blair were "damaging" and could distract officers from the "real issue." "It was a tragic mistake what happened to this family but it was a mistake," said Gorodi, whose sister, dental technician Michelle Otto, 46, died in the blast on the Piccadilly Line Tube. Copyright 2005 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report. 
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