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Shot lawyer’s family lose bid to halt inquiry
Robert Mendick, Chief Reporter10.10.08
The family of a barrister shot dead by police during a siege lost a landmark High Court action today to rule the official investigation unlawful.
The sister of Mark Saunders had brought the case over concerns that police marksmen are allowed to confer before giving witness statements.
But Charlotte Saunders, 26, lost her claim today despite a judge accepting the “opportunity for
collusion” by police is now “institutionalised”. She had said the practice had jeopardised the
investigation.
Mr Saunders, 32, was shot dead on 6 May at his £2.2 million flat in Markham Square, Chelsea. During a five-hour standoff with police, he had fired a legally owned shotgun from a window.
Mr Justice Underhill, in a 50-page judgment, dismissed the claim that the Independent Police Complaints Commission investigation was unlawful. He said conferring was current practice and for the IPCC to have refused to allow it would have hindered the inquiry.
But the judge ruled the court should be wary of the “general practice”.
The legal defeat will be a blow for the Saunders family, at loggerheads with the IPCC which has appointed three different investigators to head the inquiry.
Ms Saunders, speaking outside the High Court, said today that she plans to write to the Home Secretary to demand an urgent review of current procedures. She said she would appeal against today's ruling and hoped guidelines would be drawn up before the investigation into her brother's death is completed, probably next spring.
Ms Saunders said: “I feel it is very encouraging that the judge feels the process may be unlawful.
“He also said the opportunity for collusion was institutionalised. He has now left the decision in the hands of the IPCC. However, they feel if police officers are not allowed to confer that they may not give evidence at all, which demonstrates how much power police have when they are investigated. The balance of power seems wrong to me here.”
Ms Saunders's lawyer, Jane Deighton, said: “This is clearly a grave day for the Met Police. The judge has found opportunities for collusion within the system.”
The IPCC welcomed the ruling. It has criticised the practice of conferring but felt it had not hindered the Saunders investigation. The Association of Chief Police Officers said a review of the practice was under way.
Sources said a compromise solution was likely to be reached where the general system of allowing conferring would be ended but could still be allowed for good “operational reasons.”
