EXCLUSIVE: Jeff Pope, factual drama aficionado and creator of Disney+’s Suspect, has criticized current BBC and Channel 4 documentaries on the London bombings for exhibiting “what was primarily the Metropolitan Police-approved model of what occurred” to Jean Charles de Menezes.
The Oscar nominee stated Suspect: The Killing of Jean Charles de Menezes, which launches April 30, offers a “no holds barred model” of the tragic loss of life of the Brazilian electrician. Pope’s drama tells the story of occasions surrounding the killing of de Menezes by law enforcement officials on the London underground, who mistook him for a suspect within the failed bomb assault that befell two weeks after the devastating 7/7 bombings in July 2005.
Whereas Pope famous that the BBC’s 7/7: The London Bombings and Channel 4’s Shoot to Kill: Terror on the Tube had been “nice items of labor” and the BBC present had “astonishing materials,” he stated “when it got here to particularly the capturing of Jean Charles [de Menezes], my robust feeling was that what we noticed was primarily the Met [Police]-approved model of what occurred.”
Pope claimed the documentaries didn’t element how, throughout de Menezes’ inquest, an preliminary model of occasions that discovered police had shouted warnings at de Menezes earlier than capturing him and that he had behaved in a suspicious method and superior in the direction of them was disproved. “It’s fascinating that there have been 17 members of the general public within the carriage that morning and never one in every of them stated they heard any police officer shout a warning,” stated Pope. “That element was not in both of the docs and I feel it’s a very vital and vital element.”
Deadline contacted the BBC and Channel 4 and each pushed again firmly on Pope’s remarks.
Neil Grant, who exec produced the BBC’s doc, stated: “The main focus of four-part BBC collection 7/7: The London Bombings is an immersive retelling of occasions throughout three weeks, of which the capturing of Jean Charles De Menezes is only one half. It doesn’t give any voice to police claims, which had been later disputed, that warnings got earlier than the capturing. The collection was meticulous, honest, and neutral. We stand by the rigorously thought of editorial choices made in producing this critically acclaimed collection.”
Adam Wishart, who directed the BBC doc, has beforehand advised us his workforce needed to pose the query: “What’s the function of public authorities?”
A Channel 4 spokesman added of Pope’s remarks: “Shoot To Kill: Terror on the Tube is an correct portrayal of the occasions of July 2025, based mostly on factual proof that exists within the public area. The collection contains contributions from throughout senior ranges of presidency, the safety providers, the Metropolitan Police and civilians who lived by it. The attitude of the firearms officer who shot and killed De Menezes is one in every of a number of in a balanced and delicate collection analyzing one of the vital moments in British public life.”
Household was “first port of name,” says Pope
Suspect, which Pope stated is the “fruits of 5 years of labor,” is neither a “Met-approved model” nor a “de Menezes family-approved model,” in keeping with the Philomena author, who confused its “editorial independence.”
However, he stated de Menezes’ household was the “first port of name” when he and producer Kwadjo Dajan had been researching Suspect and the present would seemingly not have occurred with out their say-so.
“The explanation we contacted the household was as a result of we wanted to clarify to them what we had been planning, and we wanted to gauge how they felt about that,” he added. “Maria de Menezes misplaced her son, the worst factor that might ever occur in life, and right here we’re saying we wish to discover this in a four-part drama. If she couldn’t have confronted that then it is vitally troublesome to envisage any state of affairs the place we’d have continued knowingly including to the misery of a household.”
The de Menezes household in actual fact acted as consultants on the present. They attended Suspect’s screening earlier this month and Maria de Menezes advised the BBC she had been “reassured that the reality was being advised.” “They had been going to be truthful in regards to the story not like different media shops and different experiences beforehand which advised lies,” she was quoted by the BBC as saying.
Pope stated his workforce additionally approached then-Met Police Chief Ian Blair and operation commander Cressida Dick to assist with the present, however they declined.
Cressida Dick spent the inquiry “stonewalling”
Emily Mortimer as Cressida Dick. Picture: Des Willie/Disney+ © 2023.
Throughout the Suspect analysis course of, Pope stated he grew to become “indignant,” firstly as a result of the operation on that fateful day was “poorly deliberate and poorly executed,” and secondly as a result of Dick had spent the inquiry into de Menezes’ loss of life “stonewalling” and “refusing to simply accept that actually something went flawed.”
“The closest she received to any admission of error or misjudgement was saying, ‘Typically issues occur that in a perfect world wouldn’t occur’,” stated Pope.
Greater than a decade after de Menezes’ loss of life, Dick grew to become chief of the Met Police, however she resigned simply 5 years later after dropping the arrogance of the Mayor of London over her response to racism and misogyny within the power.
Dick is performed by Emily Mortimer in Suspect and Pope stated she received the half spot on. “There was one thing about the best way Cressida gave proof the place she would pause, reflecting on what she was going to say earlier than saying it, and there was a type of deliberateness, which Emily captured,” added Pope.
Suspect additionally options prime British and Irish appearing expertise together with Sport of Thrones star Hill, who portrays Blair, Russell Tovey and Max Beesley, whereas de Menezes is performed by newcomer Edison Alcaide.
“We’re in a troublesome interval for the time being”
Pope (center) with Russell Tovey on the BAFTA TV preview of ‘Suspect’. Picture: Jeff Spicer/BAFTA/Getty.
Together with motion pictures like Philomena and Stan & Ollie, Pope has written and produced a wealth of hit factual dramas down the years together with Little Boy Blue, The Moorside and A Confession.
He spoke with Deadline as Netflix’s Adolescence tears up the streamer’s top-rating chart however with factual drama feeling extra below risk than ever as broadcasters wrestle to fund native tales.
“We’re in a troublesome interval for the time being,” stated Pope. “Budgets are tight not least as a result of the massive streamers have inflated the market. Wages are increased, ambitions are increased, budgets are increased and the terrestrial broadcasters haven’t been capable of maintain tempo with that.”
He known as for “authorities subsidies” to assist maintain native reveals, which might come within the type of tax credit or a streaming levy – each really useful by the current Tradition Committee inquiry into high-end TV and movie.
Quite a few business figures have questioned whether or not the broadcasters might have afforded a present like Adolescence and a few have queried whether or not producers must be pitching native British tales to the American streamers, however Pope rejected this notion and stated Suspect was “solely ever developed and created for Disney.”
“I feel it’s actually encouraging that Disney need to add this to their repertoire,” he added. “I’ve labored for a few years on this a part of the tv panorama and it’s nice that somebody like Disney would need to take a narrative like this on and problem their viewers, permitting their viewers to get indignant.”
