Britain's police watchdog today upheld just two of 153 complaints made against counter-terrorism officers for their conduct during last year's botched raid on two houses in Forest Gate, East London, when an innocent man was shot.

But the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) said that the Metropolitan Police should make a "high-profile public apology" to the families involved and should have altered their "very aggressive" behaviour as soon as they had taken control of the two houses on Lansdowne Road. They should also have planned for the possibility of their intelligence being wrong.

"These families were the victims of failed intelligence. I am not saying officers should be disciplined as a result of that but I think it is grounds for an apology," said Deborah Glass, the IPCC Commissioner.

Scotland Yard said it was happy to repeat the three apologies already made to residents in Forest Gate and the families targeted by the police, but Deputy Assistant Commissioner Alf Hitchcock added: "I think we need to move on from apologising over and over again."

Mohammed Abdul Kahar, who was shot in the shoulder during the raid, said: "Me and my family were devastated at the outcome. Basically it’s all whitewash."

"I would have liked to see some sort of people getting prosecuted because at the end of the day ... a lot of people understand we were an innocent family, me and my next door neighbor were innocent," he told Sky News.

Fifteen officers, armed with machine guns and pistols and dressed in three layers of protective clothing, burst into 46 and 48 Lansdowne Road at around 4 o'clock in the morning on June 2 last year, believing that explosives mixed with hazardous materials -- a "dirty bomb" -- might be on the premises.

During the raid, the 11 occupants of the houses, including a baby, were shaken from their beds and Mr Kahar was shot at close range in the shoulder. Another man was thumped in the head. A separate IPCC inquiry found that Mr Kahar had been shot by accident as he tussled with an armed officer who he believed was a robber.

A further 250 police officers provided back-up as Mr Kahar, 23 at the time, and his brother, Abul Koyair, 20, were arrested and held for a week at Paddington Green police station, where terrorist suspects are brought for questioning. They were later released without charge to a storm of protest from Forest Gate's Muslim community, which complained of the police's heavy-handed tactics.

Today's investigation said that the police decided to raid the houses on Lansdowne Road after receiving information that they were the "location of an allegedly highly dangerous explosive device that could be set off remotely".

"Although the intelligence was subsequently found to be wrong, we accept that at the time the police had no choice but to act on it," the report concluded.

Ms Glass also said the initial violence of the police raid was justified. "The police tactics adopted were indeed forceful and aggressive, but this was inevitable given the threat the police genuinely believed they faced," the report said.

Explore UK News

• Crime News

• Education News

• Health News

• Science News

• Scotland News

Times Recommends

• Brown gambles it all on rescue plan
• Motherhood boosts female brain power
• That's no old FT, that's my naked wife