Ignore protest, Menezes jury told

The coroner said a verdict of unlawful killing would be not be justified

The coroner at the inquest into the death of Jean Charles de Menezes has told the jury to "ignore" a courtroom protest by family members.

On Thursday, several relatives walked out of the hearing wearing T-shirts criticising the coroner's decision to exclude a verdict of unlawful killing.

Sir Michael Wright said it was "wrong for anyone to try to put pressure on a jury and it should not have happened".

Mr de Menezes, 27, was shot in 2005 by police hunting a would-be bomber.

'Not justified'

The Menezes family staged their protest just before the 11-strong jury was sent out to begin its deliberations.

They wore T-shirts bearing the slogans "Unlawful killing verdict" and "Your legal right to decide".

On Tuesday, the coroner had told the jury at the Oval Cricket Ground in London that it would not be able to return an unlawful killing verdict.

Sir Michael said that, having heard all the evidence, such a verdict was "not justified".

Everyone relies on you to make your decisions only upon the evidence you have heard in court Sir Michael Wright, coroner

Criticising the protest, he told jurors: "In any event, it is quite wrong for anyone to seek to put pressure on a jury and it should not have happened.

"To turn it upside down, to turn it on its head, just suppose the families of the police officers had come to court wearing T-shirts with particular messages seeking to influence you.

"You would readily understand that that was quite wrong and that you should ignore [it], and exactly the same applies here.

"I am very aware that these proceedings are stressful for a large number of people, and not just for the family of Mr de Menezes, but everyone relies on you to make your decisions only upon the evidence you have heard in court."

On Tuesday, Sir Michael said that his decision to restrict the choice of verdict did not mean mistakes had not made in the lead-up to Mr de Menezes' death.

But he added: "All interested persons agree that a verdict of unlawful killing could only be left to you if you could be sure that a specific officer had committed a very serious crime - murder or manslaughter."