Lindt siege inquiry: Stand-off ‘not a holiday camp’ says negotiation expert

COUNTER-terrorism experts slammed the assessment of a psychiatrist who told police Man Monis and his captives would be bedding down on the night of the Lindt siege.

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BRITISH counter-terrorism experts have slammed the assessment of a psychiatrist who told police that terrorist Man Monis and his captives would be bedding down on the night of the Lindt cafe siege.

“Not to be flippant but this is not a holiday camp,” UK hostage negotiation expert Kerrin Smith told the inquest into the siege yesterday.

Chief Superintendent Smith and fellow negotiation specialist Andrew Brown agreed that police negotiators trying to bring the 17-hour siege to a peaceful end got nowhere with Monis and should have rethought their tactics.

Dr Andrew Brown.

Chief Superintendent Kerrin Smith.

In damning evidence given by videolink from the UK, the experts said negotiators missed opportunities and never examined other options after they failed to speak directly to Monis, who would only communicate through hostages.

The inquest has heard that, less than an hour before Monis fired his first shot at 2.03am as six hostages escaped, the psychiatrist employed by NSW police told commanders he thought things were calming down: “It looks like they appear to be going to bed. Putting their heads down. Lights out. Calm.”

At 2.13am, Monis murdered cafe manager Tori Johnson and barrister Katrina Dawson died after being hit by fragments of police bullets as officers stormed the cafe.

Tactical operations officers storm the Lindt Cafe during the siege.

Flash bang stun grenades are thrown as police assault the building.

Counsel for Ms Dawson’s family, Michael O’Connell SC, asked the British experts what they thought about the psychiatrist’s advice.

“I’m not sure whether the settling terminology was appropriate in these circumstances,” Supt Smith said.

“Not to be flippant but this is not a holiday camp where people pack up and go to bed.

“It’s a highly charged situation with someone believed to have an IED and a shotgun.

“I don’t think there’s any prospect that he was going to settle in a corner and have a couple of hours sleep before he started his tirade again the next morning.”

Giving evidence by videolink from the UK, Dr Brown said he saw no evidence from the listening device inside the cafe of any settling down.

NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione.

Lindt Cafe siege survivor Louis Hope arrives at the inquest.

Tactical officers near the Martin Place cafe during the stand off.

The experts said that, having reviewed the course of the siege negotiations, they saw no progress being made at all.

Supt Smith was part of the UK counter-terrorism team engaged by the inquest to provide advice, while Dr Brown was engaged by the families of the victims.

They said the police negotiators should have been measuring their progress and when negotiations had obviously stalled, should have used other tactics to engage Monis.

“They should have had a bag of options,” Supt Smith said.