Daily Mail Story on Compensation for Menezes Family

The speculative story in today's Daily Mail suggesting that the family of Jean Charles de Menezes, who was shot dead at Stockwell tube station in July 2005, will receive reduced compensation "because they are so poor" is little more than prurient speculation.

The Daily Mail article looks very much like a classic newspaper fishing expedition, an attempt to see whether the story would elicit a denial and therefore a leak revealing exactly how much the Menezes family had actually been offered.

In a joint statement, the family of Jean Charles de Menezes and the Metropolitan Police have said:

The Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis and representatives of the de Menezes family are pleased to announce that all litigation between them arising out of the tragic death of Jean Charles de Menezes has been resolved.

The members of the family are pleased that a compensation package has been agreed which enables them to put these events behind them and move forward with their lives. In view of the physical and mental distress caused to the members of the family by these events and the understandable publicity and press interest, it has been agreed that it is in the best interests of the family that no further statement in relation to this settlement will be made either by them or the Commissioner.

The Commissioner would like to take this opportunity of making a further unreserved apology to the family for the tragic death of Jean Charles de Menezes and to reiterate that he was a totally innocent victim and in no way to blame for his untimely death.

So hopefully that is clear - nobody has any idea what the compensation package includes because this is a private matter for the family. The only thing I know for certain is that, like every other police custody-death family I have met over the last decade (which is far too many), no amount of money can ever make up for for the pain and loss they feel.

UPDATE

The Guardian's Vikram Dodd demonstrates how to cut and paste from a rival.