Police boss: No answer over Menezes

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Chief Superintendent Steve Swain travelled around the world to glean intelligence for Scotland Yard after the 9/11 attacks in 2001.

But he said after "weeks and months" of agonising, he still did not know how police could not make mistakes while protecting the public.

Mr Swain, who left the Metropolitan Police last year, said: "We have agonised over this for hours and hours and weeks and months about how you could protect the public.

"You could not make a mistake and shoot somebody by mistake and you could not put those officers in that situation where they could make a mistake and shoot the wrong person.

"Frankly I don't know what the answer is."

Police marksmen shot Mr de Menezes, 27, seven times in the head at point-blank range on a train carriage on July 22 2005.

He had been mistaken for one of the terrorists behind the previous day's failed suicide attacks on the capital.

Mr Swain went on to deny claims that events leading to the innocent Brazilian's shooting were "utterly predictable".

He said the Metropolitan Police operation after the failed attacks by terrorists in London on July 21 was "unique".