THE police have not been held to account over anti-terrorism operations, according to the organisation representing two men arrested on flawed intelligence.

The Newham Monitoring Project (NMP), have spoken out after the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) published the findings of its inquiry into last June's raid on two households in Lansdown Road, Forest Gate.

One of the two men arrested, Mohammed Abdul Kahar, was shot by police during the operation.

A spokesman for the NMP said: "The importance of this case and the need for a thorough investigation cannot be minimized - Forest Gate is a landmark case, you need only look at the comments following the recent Birmingham raids, when people were asking, 'is Birmingham the next Forest Gate?'

"There are fundamental questions which need answering about whether police acted appropriately. This report fails on all levels to address this and does not hold the police accountable.

"It undermines the continuing work on the ground on building trust in our communities - it is unsurprising that members of the Muslim community feel a sense of injustice in their treatment from the police.

"The threat of terrorism needs to be balanced with the threat to innocent victims of anti-terror operations, and the wider impact on communities 'under suspicion.' This cannot be achieved while police operations repeatedly prove to be based on flawed intelligence.

"As in their investigation into the shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes, the IPCC again fails to hold the police accountable for their failure to adequately verify their intelligence.

"In effect, the IPCC report dismisses almost all of the 150 allegations by the eleven adults members from the raid houses, given independently, which are accounts of police misconduct and excessive physical force.

"If this is not a sufficient basis for the IPCC to recommend criminal proceedings into officers' conduct, it raises the question what will ever be enough?

"There has been an expectation that the police 'will get away with this.' Forest Gate was seen as a test case to see if the processes of IPCC work in holding the police to account. The message from this report is that no action will be taken - you can be shot, assaulted, brutalized - the community effectively 'terrorised' - and there will be no redress.

The IPCC have failed in their duty to make recommendations of action that would make a difference for other families. What, therefore, is the purpose of the IPCC?"

The NMP also released two statements on behalf of the families affected by the raid.

Hanif Dogha, who required stitches after being struck on the head by the butt of a gun during the raid, said: "I could have died from this injury yet the IPCC dismiss it as a minor head injury' and call for no further action.

"I'm deeply disappointed in this report - this is belittling and not a proper investigation."

The Kalam family, who include the two men arrested and later released without charge, said: "Whilst we welcome the IPCC's recommendation of a public apology, it is eight months too late.

"Words are not sufficient to compensate for the police brutality suffered, action is what is required."