THE shattered parents of a student who was stabbed to death today said they will never be able to forgive the solicitor whose actions led to the collapse of a murder trial.

Shehzad Iqbal died after he was stabbed in the street three years ago and a murder investigation was launched.

Solicitor Owen Sharples was called to Blackburn police station to represent Rashid Mankda after he was charged with the murder of the 18-year-old.

When the case came to court the trial collapsed and in an unprecedented move the prosecuting barrister described Mr Sharples actions as "woefully incompetent".

Londoner Rashid Mankda walked free and no one has ever been brought to justice for the killing.

Blackburn MP and Home Secretary Jack Straw took the case up on behalf of the Iqbal family and Mr Sharples was struck off by the law society yesterday.

But the grieving parents of Shehzad say they are still waiting for justice to be served. Mohammed Iqbal, 43, of Saunders Road, Bank Top, said: "I have never spoken to Mr Sharples and never want to, I will never be able to forgive him for what he has done to this family.

"I still think about my son every day and I still cannot walk past the place where he was murdered.

"We are very angry about what happened, Mr Owen was dealing with a matter of life and death and he made massive mistakes. We will never be able to forgive or forget.

"As far as I am concerned Mr Sharples will always be my enemy and nothing will ever change that."

The father of two added: "Shehzad was a good boy who never caused anyone any trouble. He was in the wrong place at the wrong time and we will never be able to forget what happened to him.

"I am happy that Mr Sharples has been struck off but we still want to see more action and we will be taking legal advice.

"I have always been a great believer and supporter of the British legal system but this whole affair has changed all that.

"My son has been murdered and no one was ever brought to justice, we are still waiting for someone to be punished for that."

Detective Sergeant Pete Broome, of Blackburn CID, said: "Shehzad was a respectable young man from a respectable family and the people responsible for his murder have never been brought to justice."

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.