A RETIRED High Court judge has been appointed to chair the inquiry into the death of Azelle Rodney, Justice Secretary Ken Clark confirmed yesterday.

Sir Christopher Holland, 73, will front the investigation into the death of the 24-year-old, who was shot by a police marksman in Hale Lane, Edgware, in April 2005.

The inquiry, which will be held partly in secret, will look at the circumstances surrounding the death of the unarmed man from Hounslow, who was sat in the back of a drug dealer's car when he was shot.

His mother, Susan Alexander, has led a five-year campaign for an inquest into the death, taking the case to the European Court of Human Rights last year.

Police have continually refused to reveal the secret information which led them to believe Mr Rodney would be armed.

Mr Clark said in a ministerial statement: “I am very grateful to Sir Christopher for assuming this important role. It is more than five years since Mr Rodney’s death, and I very much hope that this inquiry will be able to satisfy the public need for deaths of this kind to be explained and to resolve matters for Mr Rodney’s mother, Susan Alexander.”

The details and date of the inquiry will be decided by Sir Christopher.