He crossed Clapham Road and entered the station at about 1000, stopping to pick up a copy of the free Metro newspaper before passing through the automatic ticket barriers, using his Underground pass.

At least one witness initially said he saw the man vaulting the barriers. But he later acknowledged that it could have been one of the pursuing officers.

By this time, officers had received "positive identification" that Mr Menezes was their suspect, according to the leaked papers.

He began travelling down the escalator towards the northbound Northern Line platform, and at some point began running towards the train. Originally, this was interpreted by witnesses (and not dismissed by police) as an attempt to escape the pursuing officers.

But the documents suggest it might have been because he heard or spotted a train arriving at the platform.