De Menezes was shot seven times in the head by Scotland Yard anti-terror officers as he sat aboard a train at a subway station in south London on July 22, 2005. Two weeks earlier, four suicide bombers had attacked London's transit system, killing 52 people.

In July, Britain's Crown Prosecution Service decided not to charge any individual officers in connection with the shooting, which provoked an angry response from civil libertarians and de Menezes' family. Instead, the Metropolitan Police has been charged with health and safety breaches over the killing.

The force is expected to enter a plea to the health and safety charges. At a hearing in August, a lawyer for the department said they needed more time to consider the evidence before deciding whether to plead guilty or not guilty. If convicted, the force could face an unlimited fine.