Respect demands explanation over shooting

‘We are asking simple questions. Like how long does it take to search a small house? How was it that someone was shot during the raid? The longer the police spend in the house the more people’s doubts will grow about the intelligence upon which the raid was based.

People are getting more and more suspicious. The government had already lost people’s trust because of their lies about Iraq, now the police are losing trust among local residents.

I live a few streets away from the scene of the raid. The ward I represent is a stone’s throw away. This is what I am hearing from residents in the area.’

Newham Respect councillor Hanif Abdulmuhit

Respect rapidly responded to the raid. The organisation has demanded answers to key questions:

• Why was it necessary to shoot one of the suspects even though there is no evidence that he was armed?
• Were the police following a similar policy to that of last summer when the young Brazilian Jean Charles de Menezes was shot on the tube?
• Was the evidence against the two men about their appearance or religious devotion? If so, that is a very worrying development.