Spying on De Menezes family invasive, inquiry told
The cousin of mistaken terror suspect Jean Charles de Menezes has said spying by the Metropolitan Police on her family's justice campaign was "invasive and unnecessary".
The 27-year-old Brazilian was shot and killed by police on the Tube at Stockwell station in south London on 22 July 2005, the day after failed bombing attempts on the transport network.
Patricia Armani da Silva told the Undercover Policing Inquiry on Thursday that Specialist Demonstration Squad (SDS) officers "invaded my privacy" when they went undercover and gathered information on the Justice4Jean campaign.
No officers were prosecuted for the killing of de Menezes but the Met was fined for breaching health and safety laws.
De Menezes' death was two weeks after the 7/7 terror attacks, which killed 52 people in central London in 2005.
'Justice and accountability'
De Silva told the inquiry that her family's campaign was launched in response to the police handling of her cousin's death.
She recalled how the day after de Menezes was killed, police told a family friend that he had been arrested on suspicion of terrorism, not that he had been fatally shot.
Later that day the family were told that de Menezes had been killed, and de Silva said she felt "very disrespected" by the lack of communication.
Despite being told not to speak to the media, five days after de Menezes' death, the family held their first press conference where they expressed their "anger and pain" and called for "justice and accountability".
The inquiry heard that in the weeks and months that followed, the de Menezes family were spied upon by undercover officers who gathered information at their campaign launch.
"I keep asking why?" da Silva told the inquiry. "I think this is really intrusive and very disturbing.
"You can imagine how this has impacted our lives... it follows us."
She said the purpose of her family's campaign was to "find justice" for de Menezes, and said it was never influenced with any political party, including the Socialist Party, which SDS officers had claimed in their intelligence reports.
"We never had the intention to do anything bad, before or after Jean was killed," da Silva said.
She added that October 2025 - more than 10 years after her cousin was shot and killed by the force - was first time she received an apology from the Met Police for officers spying on the family's campaign.
'Deep regret'
Met Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner Jon Savell said the deployments surrounding the de Menezes family and their campaign "were not justified".
"The information should never have been collected or retained.
"I would like to reiterate the commissioner's apology for the improper reporting that happened during this period, and the hurt caused to those affected.
"Jean Charles de Menezes' death remains a matter of deep regret for the Met Police and we continue to send our thoughts to his family and friends."
Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes: A timeline
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