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Public Inquiry

The Azelle Rodney Inquiry

Completed · Chair: Sir Christopher Holland · Established June 2010 · Commissioned by Ministry of Justice

Inquiry into the fatal shooting of Azelle Rodney by a Metropolitan Police firearms officer in 2005.

More about this inquiry

Inquiry into the fatal shooting of Azelle Rodney by a Metropolitan Police firearms officer in 2005. Found the officer had no lawful justification for killing Mr Rodney.

Inquiry website ↗

Where it stands

The Report of the Azelle Rodney Inquiry was published on 5 July 2013.

The most recent government response on the record is Metropolitan Police Service review of the Azelle Rodney Inquiry recommendations, dated 3 June 2014.

Government response (3 recommendations)

Delivery (the addressees’ latest statements)

  • No statement from Metropolitan Police Service found in the sources searched 3

Record checked against the sources 2 October 2026. Latest activity 3 June 2014.

Latest on the recommendations

All 3 recommendations

Reports

Reports and timeline

Recent milestones

  • Final Report Published5 July 2013
  • Closing submissions17 December 2012
  • Public hearing of evidence ends13 November 2012
Full timeline

Costs

£2,600,000

Reported cost Costs in detail

Parliament

1

mention in Parliament Parliamentary activity

Recommendations

1 shown (filtered)
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AR-2: Protocol for Post-Incident Debriefing

Noted · No statement from Metropolitan Police Service found

Recommended

At an early date there should be liaison between the IPCC, the MPS and ACPO (and, more significantly, lawyers acting for each) with a view to establishing a protocol for the future conduct in the event of a shooting by a police officer of an early debriefing as an obligation equal and complementary to any IPCC investigation.

Since then (summary written by this site)

The Inquiry recommended establishing a protocol for early debriefings following fatal police shootings. In conclusions from Commander Neil Basu's review in June 2014, the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) stated that it had engaged with the recommendation but had been unable to secure agreement or cooperation from the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) (Metropolitan Police Service response, Jun 2014). The MPS added that debriefs would be disclosable in future judicial proceedings and could not be fully anonymised, restricting their effectiveness (Metropolitan Police Service response, Jun 2014). In August 2014, Deputy Chief Constable (DCC) Simon Chesterman, National Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) Lead for Armed Policing, stated that the MPS, the College of Policing, and ACPO had produced approved practice for conducting debriefs in death or serious injury cases (Simon Chesterman, Aug 2014).

Addressed to Metropolitan Police Service · Full record

Reports and timeline

Timeline

Inquiry established

Source

Public hearing of evidence begins

Source

Public hearing of evidence ends

Source

Closing submissions

Source

Final Report Published

Parliamentary activity

1 mention since Dec 2025
1 question

Azelle Rodney Inquiry and Bernard Lodge Inquiry

Written Question House of Commons Simon Hoare · Conservative

Asked: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the official closing date under section 14 of the Inquiries Act 2005 was for the public inquiries entitled (a) Inquiry into the circumstances of the Death of Bernard Lodge at Manchester Prison on 28 August 1

Answered by Ministry of Justice: The Chairs of the Bernard Lodge and Azelle Rodney Inquiries completed their investigations and submitted reports, which were published on 15 December 2009 and 5 July 2013, respectively.

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Evidence & impact

AI-generated · 26 Mar 2026
The Azelle Rodney Inquiry examined the fatal shooting of Azelle Rodney by a Metropolitan Police Service firearms officer in April 2005. Sir Christopher Holland's inquiry, which reported in July 2013, made three recommendations focused on improving police procedures following armed operations.

The inquiry's recommendations addressed operational debriefing protocols and senior officer involvement in post-incident procedures. While no formal government response was published, the Metropolitan Police Service provided updates on progress through 2014.

According to MPS communications, Commander Basu conducted an internal review that was completed by June 2014. The MPS reported in August 2014 that work had been undertaken on post-incident debriefing protocols and that senior officer debriefing procedures had been put in place. These updates constitute the primary public evidence of action taken following the inquiry's recommendations.

The available evidence indicates that all three recommendations were addressed through internal MPS processes rather than through legislation or wider governmental action. The MPS reported completion of implementation work by August 2014, approximately one year after the inquiry reported.

No subsequent implementation reviews or independent assessments of the changes have been identified in the public record. The lasting impact appears to be confined to internal MPS procedures for handling post-incident processes following armed operations, though the specific details of these procedural changes and their ongoing application are not documented in the available evidence.
Reforms attributed to this inquiry · AI-generated- Metropolitan Police Service revised protocols for post-incident debriefing following fatal shootings, confirmed by Commander Basu review (June 2014)
- MPS introduced senior officer debriefing procedures for armed operations (August 2014)
- Changes to MPS internal review processes for armed operations incidents

Key facts

Duration: 3 years Total reported cost: £2.6m