It resulted in the arrest of two men at their east London homes in Forest Gate by police acting on what they described as "specific intelligence" that they might be terrorists in possession of a chemical bomb.
The apology was welcomed by the families affected, but they demanded the investigation of the steps the police took to assess the quality of the intelligence leading to the raids.
Early on Friday, 2 June 2006, police raided two houses on Lansdown Road, Forest Gate, London, acting on intelligence that there was a chemical weapon located at the premises.
"[10] Nearby roads were closed to the public for several days whilst investigations were carried out,[11] and a prohibition on aircraft flying below 2,500 ft was imposed on the area.
[15][16] It has been alleged that a British Muslim, Abu Bakr Mansha, who was jailed in January 2006 on terrorism charges and who grew up in the neighbourhood, had provided the intelligence "trigger" for the raid,[17] although this has been denied by his lawyer.
"[21] On 18 June 2006, approximately 5,000 people from a broad cross-section of local communities marched throughout Newham to Forest Gate Police Station in a protest against the violent nature in which the raids had taken place.
[24] The then Prime Minister, Tony Blair, said that he supported the police "101%", adding that "You can only imagine if they fail to take action and something terrible happened what outcry would be then, so they are in an impossible situation.
[29] The shooting was referred to Independent Police Complaints Commission,[30] who prepared a leaflet about its enquiry for distribution to homes and other locations in the area.
The IPCC concluded that the police had not used excessive force given the intelligence they used, but that they should have changed their response once it became clear that the situation was under control and there was no imminent threat.