Allies and opponents of Sir Ian Blair yesterday said they believed he would keep his job as Britain’s most senior police officer, despite an official report into the killing of Jean Charles de Menezes blaming him for exacerbating the damage caused to his force. The Independent Police Complaints Commission said a string of failings led to the innocent man being shot dead after being mistaken for a suicide bomber.
Sir Ian was criticised for his decision to try to block the IPCC investigation, which the report said allowed an attempt by at least one officer to tamper with evidence in an attempted cover-up.
– The Guardian
The US military has painted its most upbeat assessment yet of security in the Iraqi capital, claiming it has forced the most extreme of the insurgent groups, Al-Qaida in Mesopotamia, out of every neighbourhood in Baghdad, and has cut the number of murders by 80%.
In a move described as over-optimistic by some observers, Major-General Joseph Fil, commander of the US forces in Baghdad, told reporters that the clear-out of extremists would make it easier for the US military to reduce its presence in the city from next year.
– The Guardian
The Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto has been placed under virtual house arrest today to stop her from holding her first rally since President Pervez Musharraf imposed emergency rule.
Ms Bhutto’s home in Islamabad has been cordoned off with barbed wire by police and she has been told not to attend the procession, which was due to begin in Rawalpindi near Islamabad at 1pm (0800 GMT).
Today’s rally, if it goes ahead, will increase the political crisis because it will be first time that the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), the biggest opposition party, has joined protests against the emergency in earnest. But security forces seem determined to prevent it taking place, blocking the route to Rawalpindi.
– The Times
Carphone Warehouse accelerated its push into the US and lifted half-year dividends by 25pc on surging profits as it prepared for an onslaught on its stores today.
The mobile phone retailer is the only independent retailer to sell Apple’s much-awaited iPhone, on sale this morning exclusively on the O2 network.
Carphone’s chief executive, Charles Dunstone, said he had hired extra staff, including security staff, to cope with what he expected to be a rush for the gadget, a combined iPod and mobile phone.
– The Telegraph