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Family of barrister shot dead by police win court review
Robert Mendick, Chief Reporter18.07.08
The sister of a barrister shot dead by police after a five-hour siege in Chelsea today launched the first stage of a landmark legal case.
Mark Saunders's younger sister Charlotte was given permission for a full-scale High Court hearing into the handling of the inquiry into his death by the Independent Police Complaints Commission.
A judge ruled the judicial review could go ahead at a hearing today.
Mr Saunders's family are questioning why the divorce lawyer was killed after the stand-off at his £2.2 million flat in Markham Square.
Their legal action focuses on the way officers were allowed to collaborate on their accounts of the siege.
Mr Saunders's mother, Rosemary, told the Evening Standard: "We just want to see justice for our son." She and Charlotte, 26, travelled to London from the family home in Cheshire for today's High Court hearing.
Lawyers for the family will argue that the investigation into the death by the Independent Police Complaints Commission is f lawed because of archaic rules allowing officers to confer-before writing up their notes. They will claim the investigation is in breach of the Human Rights Act and will query why the marksmen involved in the shooting have still not been questioned even though members of the public have been interviewed.
It is understood the family has been frustrated by the IPCC investigation while believing the siege could have been resolved peacefully.
Oxford-educated Mr Saunders, 32, died on 6 May after being shot at least five times. The siege began after the former TA soldier began firing a shotgun from a rear window of the flat he had bought with his wife Liz, a fellow lawyer. The family has hired civil rights lawyer Jane Deighton to act on the case. She will seek a judicial review of the investigation.
The IPC said in a statement: "We are very confident that our investigation is robust and being carried out thoroughly and fairly."
Meanwhile, Met Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair came under increased pressure today over the killing of Jean Charles de Menezes after a report criticised the structure of Scotland Yard. The scrutiny panel of the Metropolitan Police Authority said there was still unanswered questions and criticised the force for failing to provide a definitive account three years after the shooting.
Mr de Menezes, 27, was shot at close range in a Tube carriage at Stockwell station on 22 July 2005. Police had mistaken him for failed suicide bomber Hussain Osman. The Met was convicted on a general health and safety count at the Old Bailey last November.
The MPA report criticises the topheavy management of the Met and calls for a "cultural shift among the senior ranks" to move away from the "silo-based culture".
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Interesting another case of protect the criminals and punish the police.
This case is completely different to the de Menzies shooting. The deceased was shooting a firearm out of his window and was only a few moments walk away from a busy street.
I suppose because he was white, a professional and was an Oxbridge graduate the rules should have been different for him.
- Chaz, Perth, Australia
There is a school of thought here that says if someone is firing a gun out of a window, he deserves what he gets. He could have killed someone and the police had to contain that possibility.
- L Darlington, Sydney, Australia
