Judge's death puts test case in limbo

The death of a high ranking judge will mean the parents of murdered optometrist Giles Van Colle could wait months before the result of their High Court action is known.

Irwin and Corinne Van Colle launched their test case against Hertfordshire police in June, claiming that the force had failed to do sufficient to protect their son from his killer. Giles Van Colle was murdered in November 2000, and his former lab technician Daniel Brougham was jailed for life for the crime.

This summer the High Court heard accusations of how the police did nothing to protect the life of the young optometrist despite a history of incidents in which witnesses were intimidated and threatened. It was seen as a test case, and one that was expected to give new guidelines on the accountability of police.