Who was Jean Charles de Menezes? New documentary Shoot to Kill: Terror on the Tube airs

A firearms officer who shot dead an innocent man wrongly suspected of being a terrorist has spoken for the first time in a new documentary that will air this evening (November 10).

Speaking for the first time for a Channel 4 documentary, the officer, known only as C12, said: “I'm expecting an explosion at any moment; he's gonna blow. We're gonna die. But that's the nub of it. If I don't do something now, we are all going to die”.

Brazilian electrician Jean Charles de Menezes was shot dead by two officers a fortnight after the 7 July 2005 London bombings.

Suicide bombers exploded devices on three Tube lines and a London bus - killing 52 people and injuring over 770 others. Would-be suicide bombers targeted the Tube again on July 21 2005, but their devices failed to explode.

On July 22 2005, 27-year-old de Menezes was mistaken for one of the suspects when they were linked to the same block of flats. The officers followed him onto a tube carriage at Stockwell station and shot him seven times.

On July 23 2005, Scotland Yard confirmed de Menezes was not connected to the July 21 attacks.

Dame Cressida Dick, who served as Metropolitan Police Commissioner from 2017 to 2022, led the operation in which de Menezes was shot. A jury found the Met had broken health and safety laws and was guilty of endangering the public over de Menezes’ shooting, but Dame Cressida was cleared of blame.

Shoot to Kill: Terror on the Tube will be broadcast on Channel 4 on November 10 and 11.