HAMPSHIRE police have defended the actions of officers who came into contact with the McKinley brothers shortly before they carried out the brutal murder of Choudhry Zishan.

As heard in court the brothers were threatening a group of friends who were also in the town centre of Eastleigh on the night of the murder.

Their behaviour towards the group prompted one of them to call the police. As was explained in court officers did attend the scene but after carrying out a stop check on Samuel McKinley they left without taking any further action after the situation appeared to be diffused.

Det Supt Paul Barton said he was satisfied that the right decision was made at that time as no one could have predicted what the brothers did next.

He said there were no real grounds to suspect a crime had been committed, and that was supported by their own internal investigation.

He said: "As soon as I became aware of the fact officers had been in contact with the McKinley brothers I referred it to our Professional Standards Department who in turn referred it to the Independent Police Complaints Commission who replied straight away that they were content with the officers actions, as I am."