Lindt Cafe siege inquest: British counter-terrorism experts say police should have a direct action plan to storm the cafe

British counter-terrorism experts have told the inquest into the deadly Lindt siege that police should have had a direct action plan to storm the cafe.

British terrorism experts — Deputy Chief Constable Simon Chesterman and Inspector Nigel Kefford — outside the Lindt inquest today. Picture: John Grainger

• Scipione and Burn to appear at Lindt inquest
• Amazing fly-through of Lindt siege
• Sorrow at Lindt just not enough say family
• The cool-headed cop who shot Monis dead

British counter-terrorism experts have told the inquest into the deadly Lindt siege that police should have a direct action plan to storm the cafe.

But the two police commanders on duty that day both refused to approve a so-called DA, which would have allowed police to choose their own time to assault the cafe and take terrorist Man Monis by surprise.

“As a commander, and I keep saying I would be putting a lot pressure on people, but I would have absolutely been screaming for a DA to be in place,” Deputy Chief Constable Simon Chesterman told the inquest today.

The inquest has heard that police bosses deemed it too risky to have a DA plan approved and ready to go because of the belief that Monis had a bomb in his backpack.

Police bosses deemed it too risky to have a DA plan approved and ready to go because they thought Monis had a bomb in his backpack. Picture: AAP

The national head of armed policing in the UK, Mr Chesterman said that the longer you leave a terrorist in a stronghold with an IED, the more chance there was of him detonating it.

A team of five UK counter-terrorism experts have reviewed the police management of the siege on December 15 and 16, 2014.

The fact that frontline officers had only the option of Monis surrendering or killing a hostage before they could storm the cafe is a central focus of the inquest along with whether police should have assaulted the cafe after Monis fired his first shot at 2.03am.

British terrorism expert deputy chief constable Simon Chesterman.

British terrorism expert Inspector Nigel Kefford.

Instead they waited until cafe manager Tori Johnson was killed at 2.13am. Barrister Katrina Dawson died after being hit by fragments of police bullets.

“I respect the individuals (police) who had to make those very delicate decisions but it wasn’t made easy for them without a DA,” Mr Chesterman, who lead the review team, said today.

“I would expect and demand that a DA be in place ... you can’t have one single approach, one size doesn’t fit all.”

He said that a DA should have been approved and police should have rehearsed and finessed it ready to go if needed as an option.

Mr Chesterman said executing a DA was still a risky move but it would have been safer that what the police did end up using — emergency action after Mr Johnson was murdered.

NSW Police tactical officers and the commanders at the forward command post had all urged the approval of a DA, the inquest has heard.

“My preference would have been a DA over an EA because it would have given the operators a more detailed plan possible with more tactical options to mitigate the risk (of Monis having an IED),” Mr Chesterman, who has been working with the French after the recent terrorist

attacks in their country, said.

Neither Assistant Commissioner Mark Murdoch nor Assistant Commissioner Mark Jenkins, who were police commanders for the major part of the siege, approved a DA.

The inquest continues.