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Brazilian investigators 'perplexed' by killing

Jean Charles de Menezes - Killed on 22 July
Jean Charles de Menezes - Killed on 22 July

Brazilian investigators have said they are perplexed by the shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes, but said there was no reason at this point to suggest a police cover up.

The men are in London to look at the circumstances surrounding the killing of Mr de Menezes on a Tube train last month.

At a news conference in the Brazilian embassy, the two officials said their visit had been arranged prior to the leaking of documents last week.

The leaked report triggered a torrent of controversy over police actions before, during and after the shooting of John Charles de Menezes on 22 July.

The report dramatically contradicted police statements that the man had been acting suspiciously and had resisted arrest before being shot dead by undercover police at Stockwell Station.

Wagner Goncalves, Brazil's Federal Deputy Attorney General and Marcio Garcia, from the Ministry of Justice, were joined by Manoel Gomes Pereira, the ambassador in charge of Brazilian residents abroad.

The men said their real role was to understand the legislation governing the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), the role of the Crown Prosecution Service and the coroner's court.

They added that they had complete faith in the IPCC. They hoped to meet representatives from the CPS, the IPCC and solicitor Gareth Pierce.

Meanwhile, a coroner's inquest into the death has been adjourned until 23 February, 2006.

The legal inquest is separate to an ongoing investigation by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC).