They shot the "wrong man"

So says the headline of the Sunday Times today. There was an ideal man to shoot in the head five times from point blank range, there can be no doubt of that, though who he is remains unknown to authorities. The subject will warrant further speculation. But by chance the British police did shoot the wrong man on Friday. The wrong man was Jean Charles de Menezes, who until Friday was alive. He is reported to have been a 27 year old electrician, and the wrong man to be shot that morning.

The London police chased Menezes into the Stockwell tube station and onto a train, where an eyewitness said

"He looked like a cornered rabbit. He looked absolutely petrified."...Menezes tripped or was pushed to the floor. "One of the police officers was holding a black automatic pistol in his left hand. They held it down to him and unloaded five shots into him."

But by some twist of fate that puzzles the London police, Menezes was the wrong man to hold down and unload five shots into the back of his head. Therefore they have promptly, after two days, set the record straight.

For somebody to lose their life in such circumstances is a tragedy and one that the Metropolitan police service regrets.

It is surely regrettable when the wrong man has his head blown apart and accordingly loses his life. The police, after investigating the matter closely, have determined indeed that it is a tragedy.

The Met issued new guidance to firearms officers after 9/11, directing them to shoot a suspected suicide bomber in the head to prevent him detonating any explosive. Writing in today's News of the World, Lord Stevens, the former Metropolitan police commissioner, defended what he described as the "shoot to kill to protect" policy to save innocent lives in a "time of unique evil". He added: "I have no doubt that now, more than ever, the principle is right despite the chance, tragically, of error."

A full investigation is expected to find that shooting the wrong man on sight is right in principle, though an error, whereas shooting the right man on sight is also right on principle, and not an error. It will become clearer as more information about this incident emerges that errors are mistakes to be avoided. That is where the efforts of British police will be directed in the future, according to insiders.

A Downing Street spokesman said: "The prime minister has said all along he supports all the efforts of police and law enforcement agencies."

The police will also direct their energies toward shooting the right person five times in the head on that train in the Underground. The investigation will seek to identify who the right person is, so that he may be shot.