Britain's top police officer came under more pressure to resign today after the police watchdog found he was responsible for "avoidable difficulty" following the killing of John Charles de Menezes.
Sir Ian Blair has faced calls for his resignation since a jury last week found serious errors led to the shooting of Mr de Menezes (27) aboard a tube in Stockwell south London in 2005. Officers had wrongly regarded the Brazilian as a terrorist suspect.
The long-awaited report also revealed that prosecutors considered and rejected murder charges against the two officers who fired the fatal shots.
Charges of gross negligence against Assistant Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick, who was in charge of the ill-fated operation, were also considered and rejected.
Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) chairman Nick Hardwick said: "Very serious mistakes were made that could and should have been avoided. But we have to take the utmost care before singling out any individual for blame."
The report highlighted a series of failings, including poor communication between officers that led to Mr de Menezes being wrongly identified as a terrorist connected to the bombing of London's public transport system earlier that month that killed 52.
The IPCC report did not blame Sir Ian for the failings that led to young electrician's death, but it criticised him for initially trying to block its inquiry.
Mr de Menezes was shot repeatedly after boarding the tube on July 22nd, 2005. He had been under surveillance since leaving his home that morning but no effort had been made to intercept him until he entered the tube station.
Sir Ian has the backing of the government, London's mayor, and the head of the Metropolitan Police Authority. He has said he hopes the IPCC's account will draw a line under the matter. However an inquest on the death of Mr de Menezes and possible civil action by his family makes this unlikely.
Today's report is the second IPCC inquiry into the Stockwell shooting. A report released in August examined whether the police had misled the public by releasing false information on the day of Mr de Menezes's death.
Mr Blair was cleared of lying and was found not have been kept informed about the fatal mistake for some time. Andy Hayman, Britain's most senior counter-terrorism officer, had misled colleagues and the public, the report found.
Agencies