Mark Saunders 'holding gun limply' in leaked tape

Leaked video footage showing barrister Mark Saunders being shot by police today raises serious questions over the handling of the investigation into his death.

The tape appears to corroborate his family's claim - first made in the Evening Standard - that the lawyer was not aiming his shotgun directly at officers when he was killed.

They have been deeply upset by criticism levelled against them during a High Court hearing over the legality of the inquiry into Mr Saunders' death.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission, which is investigating the killing, accused the family of getting it wrong when they told the Standard Mr Saunders had been holding his gun "limply" and had not been firing at officers.

But the video, recorded by a police helicopter and leaked to the Sun, shows Mr Saunders "staggering drunkenly as he talks to negotiators before a hail of bullets hits him". The newspaper reports today: "Crucially, [Mr Saunders] does not shoulder the weapon and it appears to hang limply in his hands." It claims the video cannot be shown for legal reasons.

If the Sun's version of events is correct, it raises serious questions over why the IPCC attacked the family in open court and in an official statement released last week.

Mr Saunders, 32, a divorce lawyer tipped as a future High Court judge, died after a five-hour siege at his £2.2million flat in Markham Square, Chelsea, on 6 May.

His sister Charlotte, 26, who brought the High Court case, said: "The IPCC have not publicly complained or reprimanded anybody for the leaking of footage of my brother's killing to the Sun. Instead, the IPCC viciously attack our family and, more importantly, falsely accuse us of breaking confidentiality for answering a question from the Evening Standard."

The family's lawyer and Miss Saunders' older sister Jennifer had been shown the video by the IPCC earlier in the inquiry before relations between the two sides had broken down.

The IPCC claimed the video incident should have been kept confidential and claimed in the High Court that the family's "aggressive" questioning and " regrettable" conduct had hindered its inquiry.

But the IPCC will come under fire over the leaked footage. The family has never had a copy of the tape and cannot be blamed for it being passed to a newspaper.

The High Court hearing, brought over the way officers can confer before giving statements about a shooting, ends today.