I'm staying in post, says Sir Ian

Sir Ian said he was satisfied the force had "significantly improved" procedures for dealing with life-threatening situations in the wake of the tragic blunder.

The commissioner defended his own handling of events after the shooting and said: "I intend to remain in this post."

He was commenting after Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) chairman Nick Hardwick said Sir Ian was responsible for "much of the avoidable difficulty" caused after the shooting.

Sir Ian said he had "deep and very personal regret" for the death of Mr de Menezes. He added: "The MPS has never sought to avoid accountability for the death of Jean Charles de Menezes. We killed an innocent man. Hardly a day goes by when I have not thought about how things could have been done differently and thus Mr de Menezes would still have been alive."

But, despite mounting pressure, he reiterated that he would not resign. He said: "Insofar as I have had sight of the report for over 18 months and have been well aware of its contents, its publication ... makes no difference to the position I made clear (on Wednesday) - I intend to remain in this post. My reasoning is very simple - by the very nature of its task, the history of the Metropolitan Police Service is littered with controversial events. I don't need to repeat a litany of them now but every Commissioner has such events on his watch."

Sir Ian Blair's attempt to stop the independent investigation into the Stockwell incident was criticised by the shadow home secretary. Tory David Davis said the controversial move in the hours after the shooting could, if successful, have prevented any lessons being learned.

"This report confirms clear systemic failings in the operation leading up to the events on July 22 2005," said Mr Davis. "Because of this, along with the need to restore public confidence and improve public safety, Sir Ian Blair's position remains untenable."

Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman Nick Clegg said Sir Ian's refusal to resign was now a burden on the Met. "If Ian Blair's position was untenable last week, it is now beyond recovery," he said.

"Not only must he be accountable for the mistakes identified, he must also take responsibility for having deliberately delayed the IPCC investigation into the shootings. The Met cannot function as an effective police force as long as Ian Blair's stubborn refusal to accept his responsibilities continue to dog the service day in, day out."