Leaked photo, key to Jean Charles de Menezes death

Leaked documents from the independent investigation into the shooting of a man whom police mistook for one of the London Tube bombers, suggest key differences between the original police and witness version of events and subsequent reports.

Pete Clifton, editor of the BBC News website, answers criticism of a disturbing image published on the site and explains how on this occasion, the image was key to the story. (The source of the leak is not explained - so it's not clear this was a camphone shot by a citizen reporter, a policeman, or anyone else. Further details may emerge as the investigation goes on.)

"A difficult decision this week over the image of the Brazilian Jean Charles de Menezes lying dead on the Tube after being mistaken for a suicide bomber by police on 22 July.

Papers leaked to ITV News suggested some of the original information about Mr Menezes, how he behaved and what he was wearing, was incorrect. The picture of his body was also leaked.

We used the picture on the site and a number of you were angered by this decision.

I believe we were right to use the image. We are a grown-up site and we must beware sanitising the news. That said, we don't publish images of bodies lightly, and we are always mindful of how graphic the picture is.

On this occasion, the image was key to the story. It clearly showed Mr Menezes was not wearing the bulky jacket that initial reports said had raised police suspicions. For that reason I felt it was right to publish the picture, a decision mirrored by many other media outlets apart from ITV and the Sun".

emily | 3:08 PM | Citizens as Camera Phone Reporters |
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