Coroner rules de Menezes was not unlawfully killed by police

Inquest discounts verdict, saying the evidence does not justify such a decision

The coroner leading the inquest into the death of Jean Charles de Menezes has told the jury that they are not allowed to consider a verdict of unlawful killing.

Summing up seven weeks of evidence, Sir Michael Wright, a former High Court judge, said that returning such a verdict was "not justified" and that the 11 jurors should only consider a lawful killing or open verdict.

As he spoke, family members of the 27-year-old Brazilian who was shot dead by police at Stockwell underground station walked out.

"I so direct you that the evidence in this case, taken at its highest, would not justify my leaving verdicts of unlawful killing to you," Sir Michael told the jury. "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."

He told the hearing at Oval cricket ground in south London that his decision to omit the verdict did not mean police were blameless in the death of Mr de Menezes on 22 July 2005. "In directing you that you cannot return a verdict of unlawful killing, I am not saying that nothing went wrong in a police operation which resulted in the killing of an innocent man."

The coroner took the unconventional step of issuing the jurors with a questionnaire addressing the circumstances of the shooting two weeks after the 7 July terrorist bombings in London, in which 52 people died.

The jurors were requested to answer "yes", "no" or "can't decide" to questions such as: "Did officer C12 shout the words 'armed police' at Mr de Menezes before firing?"

The questionnaire asked them to judge how far certain factors contributed to the man's death, such as the increased pressure on the Metropolitan Police after the terrorist attacks and the failure of officers to stop Mr de Menezes before he reached Stockwell.

The jurors were instructed to set aside "any emotion" they might have about the shooting, despite the presence of the victim's mother, Maria Otone de Menezes, who has sat in on much of the hearing.

"I know that your heart will go out to her. But these are emotional reactions, ladies and gentlemen, and you are charged with returning a verdict based on evidence. Put aside any emotion." Sir Michael is in the process of summing up the evidence regarding the death of Mr de Menezes, his last judicial act before the jury is sent out to consider its verdicts.

Since the inquest began on 22 September, jurors have heard from 100 witnesses, including the two men named as officers C2 and C12 who shot Mr de Menezes at point-blank range.

In 2007, the Metropolitan Police was convicted of "endangering the public" over the shooting and fined £175,000. But police chief Cressida Dick, who led the operation, was found to bear "no personal culpability" for the death.

Sir Michael said the verdict could not be inconsistent with that decision.