BRITAIN: Cover-up claim over police killing blunder.

Byline: By SAM MARSDEN

THE family of Jean Charles de Menezes yesterday called on Britain's top policeman to "consider his position" after reports that officers covered up their part in the Brazilian's death.

Undercover police changed a surveillance log to hide the fact they had mistakenly identified the 27-year-old electrician as a suspected suicide bomber, it was claimed.

Mr de Menezes was shot seven times in the head by anti-terror officers at Stockwell tube station in south London the day after the abortive July 21 attacks.

The alleged cover-up meant blame for the tragedy would have been shifted to senior Scotland Yard commanders or the armed police who pulled the trigger.

Last night Asad Rehman, spokesman for the innocent Brazilian's family, said the allegations had "severely dented" confidence in Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair and his force.

He added: "Sir Ian Blair does need to seriously consider his own position today"

A national newspaper claimed a "Whitehall source" leaked details from the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) report into Mr de Menezes's death, which was handed over to the Crown Prosecution Service 10 days ago.

He was only shot after he was wrongly identified as suspected failed suicide bomber Hussein Osman by an undercover Special Branch team, it was reported.

But after they realised their fatal error, officers allegedly altered the log at a debriefing meeting 10 hours after the shooting. The source said: "The log was actually tampered with in a major way.

"In particular the words AND and NOT were inserted about the Osman ID, so it read 'and it was not Osman' rather than 'it was Osman'."

As many as ten police officers could face criminal charges - believed potentially to include murder or manslaughter - over the fatal shooting.

[e-mail]

CAPTION(S):

Jean Charles de Menezes