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| Azelle Rodney: intelligence officers to be questioned at inquiry into police killing | Azelle Rodney: intelligence officers to be questioned at inquiry into police killing |
| (about 1 month later) | |
| An inquiry into a police shooting in which a man was shot at close range six times in a London street will this week see British intelligence officials questioned in public for the first time. | An inquiry into a police shooting in which a man was shot at close range six times in a London street will this week see British intelligence officials questioned in public for the first time. |
| Azelle Rodney, 24, was shot by an officer – identified in preceedings only as E7 – as he sat in the rear of a Volkswagen Golf in Edgware, north London in 2005. A public inquiry will open on Monday to establish the circumstances that led to his death and address questions from his mother, Susan Alexander, who says she still does not know why the officer considered her son such a risk as to shoot him dead. | Azelle Rodney, 24, was shot by an officer – identified in preceedings only as E7 – as he sat in the rear of a Volkswagen Golf in Edgware, north London in 2005. A public inquiry will open on Monday to establish the circumstances that led to his death and address questions from his mother, Susan Alexander, who says she still does not know why the officer considered her son such a risk as to shoot him dead. |
| It is expected to lead to recommendations that could determine the future of police operations that are based on long-term surveillance and the use of intelligence resources. | It is expected to lead to recommendations that could determine the future of police operations that are based on long-term surveillance and the use of intelligence resources. |
| The police shooting of another man, Mark Duggan, 29, in north London triggered last year's riots. Inquest, a campaigning charity, also draws parallels to the death of Jean Charles de Menezes, 27, who was shot dead by police at Stockwell tube station in July 2005, also as the result of a pre‑planned police operation. The Rodney inquiry, expected to last eight weeks, will this week see two intelligence officers from HM Revenue and Customs and three from Scotland Yard cross-examined over the information that led to the car being intercepted by firearms officers. It is understood the customs intelligence officers were monitoring a gang importing cocaine when they picked up information about a planned armed robbery, which they passed to intelligence officials at Scotland Yard. | The police shooting of another man, Mark Duggan, 29, in north London triggered last year's riots. Inquest, a campaigning charity, also draws parallels to the death of Jean Charles de Menezes, 27, who was shot dead by police at Stockwell tube station in July 2005, also as the result of a pre‑planned police operation. The Rodney inquiry, expected to last eight weeks, will this week see two intelligence officers from HM Revenue and Customs and three from Scotland Yard cross-examined over the information that led to the car being intercepted by firearms officers. It is understood the customs intelligence officers were monitoring a gang importing cocaine when they picked up information about a planned armed robbery, which they passed to intelligence officials at Scotland Yard. |
| The officers have agreed to be questioned in public on the quality of the intelligence, its content and reliability, and how it led to the operation. The only restriction is that they must not reveal how it was obtained. They will speak to the court behind a screen to protect their anonymity. | The officers have agreed to be questioned in public on the quality of the intelligence, its content and reliability, and how it led to the operation. The only restriction is that they must not reveal how it was obtained. They will speak to the court behind a screen to protect their anonymity. |
| Intelligence desk operatives rather than intelligence officers usually appear in court, and almost always in closed court – as is the case with the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (Siac), the most secret court within English law, which has the power to detain foreign terrorism suspects without trial. Siac's hearings and rulings are never fully revealed to the public because they involve testimony from members of the secret security services. The counsel to the inquiry, Ashley Underwood QC who has considerable experience of Siac hearings, told the Observer: "This is the first time actual intelligence officers will appear in court. | Intelligence desk operatives rather than intelligence officers usually appear in court, and almost always in closed court – as is the case with the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (Siac), the most secret court within English law, which has the power to detain foreign terrorism suspects without trial. Siac's hearings and rulings are never fully revealed to the public because they involve testimony from members of the secret security services. The counsel to the inquiry, Ashley Underwood QC who has considerable experience of Siac hearings, told the Observer: "This is the first time actual intelligence officers will appear in court. |
| "Normally you have second-hand evidence from a desk operative; here, the officers will be appearing in person to be cross-examined, the raw intelligence itself will be open to scrutiny." The officer fired eight shots of which a number struck Rodney in the head. Guns were subsequently found in the car and the two men in the front, Wesley Lovell and Frank Graham, were jailed in 2006 for possession of firearms and ammunition. | "Normally you have second-hand evidence from a desk operative; here, the officers will be appearing in person to be cross-examined, the raw intelligence itself will be open to scrutiny." The officer fired eight shots of which a number struck Rodney in the head. Guns were subsequently found in the car and the two men in the front, Wesley Lovell and Frank Graham, were jailed in 2006 for possession of firearms and ammunition. |
| Previous inquiries into the shooting include one by the Independent Police Complaints Commission, which found no evidence of misconduct and by the Crown Prosecution Service, which concluded that there was "insufficient evidence" to offer a realistic prospect of convicting any officer. | Previous inquiries into the shooting include one by the Independent Police Complaints Commission, which found no evidence of misconduct and by the Crown Prosecution Service, which concluded that there was "insufficient evidence" to offer a realistic prospect of convicting any officer. |
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