Shot barrister's family take court action over 'flawed' Chelsea siege inquiry

The family of a barrister shot dead by police during a siege at his Chelsea flat launched a landmark court challenge yesterday over the way his death is being investigated.

The parents of Mark Saunders believe that allowing the officers involved to confer over what happened before they gave statements breached human rights legislation.

Yesterday, at the High Court in London, they won permission to seek a judicial review over the handling of the inquiry by the Independent Police Complaints Commission.

If successful, their case could have major implications for other police shootings, including the mistaken killing of Jean Charles de Menezes at Stockwell Tube station in 2005.

Mr Saunders, a 32-year-old divorce lawyer, was shot at least five times by marksmen on May 6 at the end of a four-hour standoff after he opened fired with a gun from a window of his flat.

His parents, Rodney and Rosemary Saunders, of Alderley Edge in Cheshire, have questioned whether enough was done to resolve the incident peacefully.

It emerged that the marksmen involved sat together to recall the shootout before being interviewed by the IPCC.

This is currently accepted practice, but the Saunders family believe it breaches the 'right to life' provided by human rights law.