The mother of a man gunned down by police said today that she will never recover from the effects of waiting seven years to find out why he died.
Susan Alexander, whose son Azelle Rodney, 24, was shot six times after being stopped by police in north London in April 2005, spoke out ahead of an inquiry into his death which is due to begin on September 3.
She said: "Waiting for so long to hear the evidence about the death of my son has had a profound effect on my life for the past seven years.
"I don't think I will ever recover from it, as it has had such a big impact on my state of mind, my work - when that has been possible - home, social and family life.
"No one should have to wait for so many years to find out why their son or daughter died at the hands of the police."
Earlier this year the Government apologised to the European Court of Human Rights for the excessive delays in the case.
Ms Alexander says she now wants to see "a robust, effective and transparent inquiry" into how and why her son died.
A public inquiry is being held instead of an inquest because parts of the evidence may need to be heard in secret.
This is the first time such an inquiry has been set up.
Mr Rodney was shot after the car in which he was travelling with two other men was stopped in Edgware. It had been under police surveillance for several hours.
The other men were later convicted of firearms offences, but there was no evidence that Mr Rodney was armed at the time of the shooting.
Helen Shaw, from campaign group Inquest, said: "Finally after years of being embroiled in a political controversy, Susan Alexander will hopefully have the opportunity to find out why her son was shot dead by a Metropolitan police officer.
"His death is one of a number of fatal shootings by police that have raised profound concerns about possible operational and intelligence failings and about the quality of the investigations conducted by the Independent Police Complaints Commission.
"Despite the lack of a jury, and the appalling delay that Susan Alexander has had to endure, we really hope this inquiry can both establish the facts about Azelle Rodney's death and thoroughly examine the broader issues relating to the planning and control of police firearms operations."
