Police were wrong in claiming they could not access photographs which could have ruled out Jean Charles de Menezes as a suspected suicide bomber, an inquest heard yesterday.

Police were wrong in claiming they could not access photographs which could have ruled out Jean Charles de Menezes as a suspected suicide bomber, an inquest heard yesterday.

Officers shot dead the Brazilian man two hours before pictures of the real suspect arrived from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency.

Detective Inspector Kevin Southworth previously blamed the wait on not having an out-of-hours contact with the DVLA, which was due to send a copy of failed attacker Hussain Osman's driving licence.

But, as coroner Sir Michael Wright began summing up more than seven weeks' evidence at The Oval cricket ground in London, Mr Southworth admitted his understanding was "erroneous".

It emerged police could have accessed DVLA's Swansea headquarters at any time.

In a new statement submitted to the jury, Mr Southworth said: "I accept that my understanding was erroneous and I am anxious to correct my evidence in this respect."

The fresh revelation came after the coroner ruled out a verdict of unlawful killing in his summing-up speech.

The former High Court judge told jurors they will be allowed to return only a verdict of lawful killing or an open verdict.

The coroner told jurors to cast aside "any emotion" over the shooting of the innocent man.

Since September 22, jurors have heard from 100 witnesses, including the two men who shot Mr de Menezes dead at point-blank range on a carriage at Stockwell Tube station on July 22, 2005.

The shooting came two weeks after London was rocked by the July 7 bombings that left 52 victims dead.

Yesterday, the coroner told jurors he would send them out to consider their verdicts after a "short" review of evidence this morning.