World | Did the SO19 marksmen kill an "Iraq veteran" or a "top barrister"?

The interesting point about the later edition of the story in the Standard is that there is now no mention of his being an Iraq war veteran, merely a former territorial army officer.

So does that mean that after the first edition had been published the government issued a D-notice censoring the gunman's past military service in Iraq?

Of course the censorship of his past service in Iraq could be due to something as simple as an attempt to cover up the fact that Iraq veterans tend to suffer from Post-traumatic Stress Disorder. The government are known to be in denial over Gulf War Syndrome; admission that it exists would be extremely costly for them.

You can find the texts of the two editions below.

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Evening Standard Early Edition
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POLICE KILL IRAQ VETERAN

Benedict Moor-Bridger and Justin Daventport, Evening Standard (First Edition), 07.05.2008

A MAN shot dead by police after a five-hour siege in Chelsea was an ex-soldier, it was revealed today.
Officers in body armour used stun grenades to storm a £2.2million flat in Markham Square, which is just off the King’s Road. The gunman, 32, who is understood to have served in Iraq, began firing from a window with a shotgun at about 5pm yesterday.
He was said to have been drinking heavily after an argument with his girl-friend or ex-partner who fled the property in tears moments earlier. "He just kept shooting, cool as a cucumber," said one neighbour.
Shoppers and commuters ran for cover and neighbours in one of London’s wealthiest areas were told to shut themselves in their bathrooms as Met firearms teams surrounded the Georgian terrace. Officers exchanged fire with him at least three times during the stand-off before he was hit.
The man was found injured inside the ground-floor flat. He was carried out of the building on a stretcher and given emergency treatment in the street but died at the scene. The fatal shooting is the first carried out by officers from the Met's specialist firearms squad 0019 since members of the unit killed Jean Charles de Menezes at Stockwell Tube station in 2005.
The Independent Police Com-plaints Commission today launched an investigation into the incident.
They confirmed that investiga-tors had found a legally held firearm, a shotgun, at the scene.
Investigators are examining reports that the man was suffer-ing from post-traumatic stress disorder.
A woman, who asked not to be named, said a domestic dispute appeared to be the catalyst for the incident. She said: "A woman raninto a nearby store with a gentleman. She was panicked and crying and it said that it was her ex partner or boyfriend. It seems an argument had started and got out of hand."
One neighbour said a couple had bought the flat in September last year for £2.2 million.
As the siege went on armed offi-cers sealed off the busy street.
A bus driver told how his double-decker was stopped by police and he and passengers ordered to take cover.
Witnesses described how offi-cers then returned fire, as police snipers took up positions on rooftops.
One resident, whose garden backs on to the gunman's house, said her home had been sprayed with shots. A child's bedroom was also hit. A trained negotiator was sent to the scene to fry to reason with the gunman.
At just after 9pm officers again returned fire after being shot at from the building. Half an hour later they again came under attack.
Police threw stun grenades into the flat at around 9.35pm. Shortly after marksmen were involved in a third and final exchange of shots during which the gunman was fatally injured.
A short while later Scotland Yard confirmed the gunman had been killed. A spokesman said: "Following the incident in Markham Square a man has been pronounced dead."
"This is now a matter for the Independent Police Complaints Commission."

FIVE HOURS OF FEAR AND SHOOTINGS IN CHELSEA
Benedict Moore Bridger and Robert Mendick, Evening Standard (First Edition), 07.05.2008

SHOPPERS in the King’s Road ran for their lives while wealthy residents barricaded themselves into their houses during the gun battle which raged in the heart of Chelsea last night.
Shoot-outs – more like the Wild West than west London – are not supposed to happen in leafy squares 50 feet from the King’s Road.
Today, eyewitnesses spoke of their terror after the five-hour siege which left the gunman dead and locals still trying to come to terms with the extraordinary events on one of Britain’s most expensive streets.
It began at about 4.50pm with reports of a man firing at random into surrounding houses and gardens from his flat in Markham Square, where five-storey Georgian houses can fetch £10 million. The siege lasted for five more hours, with sporadic bursts of gunfire which culminated in armed police storming the flat at number 46 Markham Square, lobbing in stun grenades which lit up the night sky.
After it was all over, police brought out the semi-naked armed man on to the pavement as the medical crew try to resuscitate him. But the gunman, a military man who was said to be very drunk and had been arguing with his girlfriend before the incident, was dead.
One resident, whose garden backs onto the gunman’s house, told how her home had been sprayed with bullets during the attack.
The woman, who did not want to be named, said: "There was a man actually opposite my house shooting into my house, into my daughter’s bedroom. We thought they were firecrackers. He was at the window with a shotgun.
"He just kept shooting, cool as a cucumber. He even stopped to reload."
The woman told how the gunman, described as white and in his early thirties, opened fire on her and police after she initially heard three shots fired.
She said? "Police ran into my house and I warned them not to stand too close to the window, but an armed officer went straight to the broken window and the gunman fired at him.
"You could see the guy directly across the way, aiming. The policeman crouched down and returned fire, but I don’t think he hit him."
Jenny Morley, who lives in Markham Square opposite the house, was trapped inside her home as the drama unfolded.
She said: "I had just come back from work when I heard shouting outside. I looked out of the kitchen window and saw three policemen in bulletproof vests and rifles running toward the house with their guns pointing upwards.
"Then I heard four or five gunshots and more shouting. I was told to stay at the back of the house for safety. I’m just grateful that my children were not at home."
Jill Eresen, who owns Harvest boutique clothing shop which backs on to the square, also heard the shots.
She said: "There was this noise and I couldn’t work out what it was. Then within about 10 minutes I heard a volley of shots – I think that was as the police arrived. They told us to stay in the shop, then armed police came in and said they needed to use our shop as a platform because it had the best view of the gardens. It was very scary."
Shopper Daniela Bravin, 17, said she heard six shots being fired as armed police swarmed into the area.
"The police told us to run. They had shields and were going into the square. It was terrifying."
The driver of a No 11 double decker also told how he and his 25 passengers ran for their lives as armed police raced to the scene.
Charles Gasa. 32, said: "1 was driving along King's Road just coming up to the Abbey bank on the corner of Markham Square. I could see a couple of normal police cars and then suddenly dozens more police cars started streaming into the area, Armed officers rushed out of the cars wearing bullet-proof` vests and then sec-onds later I heard some gunshots.
"At first I though someone had raided the bank. Ijust ran for my life and my passengers all did the same. Everyone was completely terrified."

Eyewitnesses reported seeing the sky light up at about 9.30pm with green flashes at the same time as the explosions and others heard glass breaking as police threw stun grenades inside. A resident of the area, where near-neigh-bours include footballers and stars such as Liz Hurley and Mick Jagger, as well as Prince William's girlfriend Kate Middleton, said: "We're all absolutely petrified. We can't believe this has happened in a place like this."
During the siege, anxious residents watched the action unfold from behind the cordon —including one man whose wife and children were trapped in their home neighbouring the flat that the gunman was in. They were told to lock themselves in the lavatory for safety The woman, who was not named, said: "It’s just verry strange. I think it's going to hit me tomorrow. I don't know why someone was shooting at my house. I have no idea who he is, I've never seen him in my life.'
A waiter in Benihana restaurant said he and around 15 members of staff were stranded in the building.
He added: "I heard gun shots when I was out-side, it was scary"
Shop manager Shan Nimalakumar, 36, said he was locked inside the health store Holland & Barrett with one customer and two members of staff.
He said: "The police won't let us anywhere near. We are now stuck in the shop. They said ‘stay in the shop, lock the door and go to the back’."
Markham Square is famous among James Bond experts as the possible location of 007's London flat.
They suggest that explains why the pseudonym Robert Markham was chosen upon Ian Fleming's death to continue the spy series. Only one novel was written under the pseudonym Robert Markham however — and that was by Kingsley Amis.

HOW THE SIEGE IN MARKHAM SQUARE UNFOLDED

4.50pm: Residents in Markham Square and King’s Road hear shots and call police.
5.00pm: Armed officers arrive at Markham Square and, hidden behind shields, approach house. Officers close King’s Road, forcing shop staff and customers to lock themselves inside.
5.10pm: Gunman fires shots at police who shoot back. No one is injured. Police negotiator is called in but gunman makes no demands. Nearby properties are evacuated.
5.30pm: Shoppers says she saw woman, claiming to be ex-girlfriend of the gunman, crying and saying she had argued with him before shooting.
9.01pm: Gunman shoots at police. Officers return fire.
9:32pm: Gunman opens fire on officers for third and final time and they fire back. Witnesses report sky lit up with green flashes, most likely stun grenades. Officers enter house.
9:40pm: Paramedics push stretcher towards house. Sources later reveal gunman has died. Ambulance later leaves area with body.
9:56pm: Police refer incident to Independent Police Complaints Commission.

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Evening Standard (Later Edition)

TOP BARRISTER SHOT DEAD IN CHELSEA SIEGE

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23482847-details/Top+ba rrister+shot+dead+in+Chelsea+siege/article.do

Top barrister shot dead in Chelsea siege

Kiran Randhawa and Justin Davenport, Evening Standard (Second Edition), 07.05.08

The gunman shot dead by police in the Chelsea siege was a high-flying barrister, it was revealed this afternoon.
Mark Saunders, 32, began firing at neighbours from the first-floor window of his £2.2 million flat in Markham Square, just off the King's Road, yesterday afternoon - sparking a five-hour stand-off.
It is understood he had been drinking heavily after an argument with his wife, 40-year-old Elizabeth Clarke, also a top divorce lawyer with the same chambers where they earned between £300,000 and £500,000 a year each. Mr Saunders is said to have chatted happily to a security guard as he left his office in the Temple at lunchtime.
Shortly before 5pm Mr Saunders, who had served with the Territorial Army, opened fire with a shotgun. Shoppers ran for cover and neighbours in one of London's wealthiest areas were told to shut themselves in their bathrooms as police snipers exchanged fire with him.