BBC NEWS | UK | Shot man not connected to bombing

Now this is a disaster. We will have angry and paranoid Muslims all over Britain - and who can really blame them? Some better explanation is needed. Did he run when challenged? What reasonable cause did the police have to believe he was a threat? Was he warned that he would be shot if he continued to run?

This man was essentially executed without trial, so there had better be a good reason. That he was a suspect carrying a bag emerging from a flat under surveillance might have been good enough for the KGB in the old USSR, but surely not in Britain - even the Britain of the Prevention of Terrorism Act?

I am not rushing to judgement on the police. I am just saying that a better justification is rapidly needed. If there is none better than offered so far, then we are in real trouble.

BBC NEWS | UK | Shot man not connected to bombing