Police to apologise over killing of unarmed man in raid

British police apologised tonight for the killing of an unarmed man in a botched raid nearly six years ago.

James Ashley, 39, was naked and in bed when he was shot and killed in front of his girlfriend in his flat in East Sussex, in January 1998.

Armed police officers had been told that intelligence reports suggested Mr Ashley might have been armed but the information was incorrect.

A statement issued by Sussex police said tonight: “Sussex police is able to confirm today’s press reports of a proposed private meeting between Chief Constable Ken Jones and the parents and family of James Ashley.

“Mr Jones is to apologise to the family and parents for Mr Ashley’s death.

“He will be accompanied by Mark Dunn, who is the current chairman of the Sussex Police Authority.”

Mr Ashley’s brother, Tony, from Liverpool, said tonight: “They (Sussex police) have done wrong. It is for them to apologise.”

He said the meeting with Sussex police would be this Thursday, at a neutral venue in Liverpool.

He added: “We have been asking for an apology, virtually from day one. It has been a long time coming.”

In February last year, Labour’s Louise Ellman, MP for Liverpool Riverside, said the criminal justice system had failed the family of Mr Ashley.

She claimed the case exposed a “culture of secrecy and cover-up” by the police.