The family of a man who died after being restrained by police say they are 'genuinely pleased' a misconduct hearing into the actions of the officers involved is to be heard in public.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission confirmed last week that the actions of the officers who restrained Habib 'Paps' Ullah in 2008 are to be examined at a public misconduct hearing.

Jurors at an inquest earlier this year were critical of the actions of the police during a routine stop and search of Mr Ullah in Sharrow Vale, High Wycombe, on July 3, 2008.

The 39-year-old died after a package containing class A drugs became lodged in his throat, but the inquest jury were critical of the amount of force used against him.

Members of the Justice4Paps campaign group welcomed the news the hearing was to take place, after the IPCC ruled last August there were cases of gross misconduct to be answered by the five police officers involved in the restraint of Mr Ullah.

But they remain critical of the fact the Crown Prosecution Service ruled out bringing criminal charges against any of the officers.

In a statement the Justice4Paps group said: "The family are genuinely pleased that the misconduct hearing of the officers involved in Habib’s death is taking place in public.

"Whilst we still have grave reservations about the role of the IPCC in the whole investigation it is nevertheless a significant step to have this hearing take place in front of us. Justice can not seen to be done if hearings like this continue to take place behind closed doors. "We know there is still a great deal of public interest in what happened in 2008 and we hope that the officers who are looking at gross misconduct charges receive an appropriate decision about their futures with Thames Valley Police.

"With all the talk about restoring confidence in the complaints system it needs to be remembered that this is an employment process and we are still hugely concerned that we and many other families are still being failed by the Crown Prosecution Service and the legal system when it comes to getting justice."