THE ‘shoot to kill’ section of the Metropolitan Police force is proceeding full speed ahead, knowing that it has the complete support of the Prime Minister and the ruling class in Britain, as both seek to push bourgeois democracy into the background and elevate the armed bodies of men of the capitalist state into being the saviours of society.
In line with the Prime Minister’s comments that he gave 101 per cent support to the 300 police who invaded Forest Gate and almost killed one young man before terrorising his family, the commander of the Met’s anti-terror squad, Hayman, has been awarded a CBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list.
The ‘honour’ given to Hayman, is in fact the Royal mark of approval for the force that Hayman commands, and the methods that it is trained to use.
After this there is now an air of optimism and arrogance in the circle of officers around the head of the Met police, Sir Ian Blair. They feel that after the endorsement by Blair and Elizabeth they can put two fingers up to the world.
Ian Blair has displayed a breathtaking arrogance. He has informed the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) that he will not give evidence to it until he has had his summer holidays, meaning that the de Menezes family will have to wait until the Autumn for the IPCC report to be made available to them.
Up till now, part of the report has been leaked to the media, but the family of the murdered man, Jean Charles de Menezes, has not seen a line of it. The arrogant ruling class clique, who know that they are above the law, are spelling it out to the stricken family that they cannot be touched.
The facts are that Jean Charles de Menezes was murdered by armed police officers on July 22 2005 at Stockwell Tube station, when they pumped seven bullets into his head.
The police force then lied about his appearance and the clothing that he wore, and alleged that he vaulted the tube turnstile and ran to a tube train.
All this has been shown to be lies. In fact, he entered the station properly, walked to the platform and was murdered when he was held down in his seat on the tube train as bullet after bullet was shot into his head.
A murder has taken place, the Met police know who committed it, but the assassin and his assistants have not been arrested or even detained.
An attempt was then made by Sir Ian Blair to prevent an IPCC investigation into what happened, after he broadcast false information about the murder.
He has not been charged with a cover-up or seeking to pervert the course of justice.
Instead, the police involved have been told that the Prime Minister backs them 101 per cent, and to continue with the good work.
The stricken family of the murdered man have been left dangling till the autumn, while the head of the Met police goes on holidays, and Hayman is left behind to display his CBE, the seal of Royal approval.
In fact, a large number of police officers, some very senior, are demanding that Sir Ian Blair be sacked.
And many more will be demanding the resignation of both Blairs if the allegations filling yesterday’s bourgeois papers are correct.
These are that the only evidence for launching the massive Forest Gate raid was given by a young man with an IQ of 69, and that in return for this ‘evidence’ he was transferred from a category A prison where he was serving six years to a category B prison from where he will be allowed to conduct an appeal against his sentence, with every chance of success.
It is clear that the state has not the slightest intention of either punishing the shoot-to-kill police or their commander Ian Blair. In fact, they already have a blank cheque to continue their operations.
The only way this situation can be dealt with is through the mobilisation of the working class for a socialist revolution, to smash the capitalist state, disband its bodies of armed men, and bring in a workers’ government that will carry out socialist policies at home and abroad, to end the war in Iraq and expropriate the bourgeoisie at home.