A gunman shot dead by police after a five hour stand-off was a practising barrister, it was revealed today.

Mark Saunders, 32, was named locally as the man at the centre of a gun battle in upmarket Markham Square, Chelsea, south-west London.

Officials are investigating whether Mr Saunders also recently served as a soldier in the British Army.

Property owner Jane Winkworth said Mr Saunders rented the £2.2 million first-floor flat in the three-storey Markham Square property.

Mrs Winkworth, director of French Sole, a company which sells ballet shoes, was trapped in her basement home during the siege.

A friend and colleague, who declined to be named, said Mrs Winkworth was left stunned and shocked.

She said Mrs Winkworth was in the rear garden when the gunman first started shooting at about 5pm.

Mrs Winkworth told her friend that at least three bullets missed her as she ran inside and dialled 999.

When armed officers arrived 10 minutes later they flooded in to her flat, where they remained.

More shots were exchanged between the gunman and police at about 9.10pm before the final fatal confrontation at 9.30pm.

She told her friend that the man died directly outside her flat after being shot by an armed officer.

Mr Saunders worked in family law, specialising in the division of property and other assets during divorce.

According to QEB Chambers, Mr Saunders is a graduate of Christ Church, Oxford, and was called to the Bar in March 1999.

Witnesses described how the siege unfolded after Mr Saunders' girlfriend or ex-partner fled the property in tears.

Evidence of the shoot-out, including windows smashed by gunfire and a door battered open by police, could still be seen this morning.

The Independent Police Complaints Committee (IPCC) has launched an investigation into the shooting.

Officials will begin house-to-house inquiries later today and Deputy Commissioner Ian Bynoe will visit the scene at 2pm today, a spokesman said.

It is not thought that anybody has been shot dead by Met Police officers since Jean Charles de Menezes was killed at Stockwell Tube station in July 2005.

A post-mortem examination will begin this afternoon, after which the man's identity will be formally confirmed.