Nov. 7 (Bloomberg) -- London's legislative assembly called on Ian Blair, the city's police chief, to accept responsibility and resign after a U.K. court last week found that his force endangered the public in a 2005 shooting.

The vote today was 15-8 with support from Conservative Party and Liberal Democrat members, while Labour members opposed censure. The resolution is non-binding.

Criticism of Blair, commissioner of the Metropolitan Police since 2005, has increased since a London court jury found the department guilty on Nov. 1 of breaking health and safety laws. The case concerned the police shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes, who was mistaken for a suicide bomber.

``An innocent man died -- someone has to be held responsible, someone has to be held accountable,'' said Richard Barnes, a Conservative member of the assembly.

The U.K.'s largest police force may get more criticism tomorrow when the Independent Police Complaints Commission publishes a report into the de Menezes shooting.

De Menezes, 27, was shot seven times in the head at a London Underground train station on July 22, 2005, as police searched for the suspects responsible for a series of failed bombings on the city's public transport system. Two weeks earlier, suicide bombers killed 52 people in the city.

`Three Options'

Blair, under 90 minutes of sometimes pointed questions, repeatedly said he planned to continue in the job and complete reforms that he's begun. He said he felt ``the most personal regret'' for de Menezes' death and that the incident was an isolated mistake rather than part of ``sustained or widespread'' failures in the department.

``There are three options,'' Blair said. ``Resign now, cling on and be pushed, or the one I am going to do, which is survive.''

The assembly can't compel Blair to quit. He serves at the discretion of the Metropolitan Police Authority and the U.K. Home Office. The authority will meet in coming days to discuss Blair's future, said Len Duvall, the chairman.

Duvall, who is also a member of the assembly, said Blair should remain in the job. Home Secretary Jackie Smith also has said she supports Blair.

The commissioner has overseen an expansion of the force to 31,000 officers, reduced crime and reorganized the department to create teams of officers in each city neighborhood. He also has made a series of gaffes, such as secretly taping a conversation with Britain's attorney general and saying the media was institutionally racist.

Controversy

Graham Tope, a Liberal Democrat assembly member, said Blair has become too controversial.

``The commissioner has become the story,'' said Tope, who also is a member of the police authority. ``That is not in the best interests of policing in London.''

Mayor Ken Livingstone, who has repeatedly defended Blair, said the Conservatives are leading a politically motivated campaign against Blair.

``The Tories are in reality undermining the fight against terrorism by attacking the Metropolitan Police in the same way they previously undermined by the fight against crime by cutting police numbers,'' the mayor said in an e-mailed statement.

To contact the reporter on this story: Brian Lysaght in London at blysaght@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: November 7, 2007 11:10 EST