 Macdonald, himself a former defence lawyer, publicly welcomed the appointment.In February 2009, Starmer approved a decision not to prosecute any police over the controversial shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes.In July 2010, Starmer announced the decision not to prosecute the police officer Simon Harwood in relation to the death of Ian Tomlinson; this led to accusations by Tomlinson's family of a police cover-up.