BURNLEY MP Peter Pike today said anyone who saw the video of former paratrooper Christopher Alder's dying moments would be "appalled."

The MP also revealed he would pursue the case vigorously and renewed his calls for a public inquiry into Christopher's death.

Janet Alder, 40, from the Manchester Road area of Burnley, has campaigned for justice since the death of her brother Christopher in the custody suite of Queen's Gardens police station in Hull on April 1, 1998. She says she is considering taking a civil action against the five police officers cleared last month of her brother's manslaughter.

Janet and her family have seen the harrowing video footage of the 37-year-old father-of-two's last 12 minutes alive, where he is seen on the floor of the station gasping for breath while police officers chat nearby. Mr Pike and former Home Secretary and Blackburn MP Jack Straw have also seen the footage.

Mr Alder, a former soldier, had been arrested for alleged breach of the peace after becoming aggressive and abusive at Hull Royal Infirmary after he was assaulted outside a nightclub in the city.

After an inquest jury saw the video of CCTV footage taken in the police station and heard weeks of evidence they recorded a verdict that Mr Alder had been unlawfully killed. But last month the trial of five police officers who had been charged with manslaughter and misconduct in a public office was halted by the judge, who ordered the jury to return not guilty verdicts.

He said conflicting medical evidence presented by the prosecution meant the jury could not be sure how the former paratrooper met his death.

Speaking in the House of Commons this week, Mr Pike said: "I have seen the video, as has the previous Home Secretary, my right hon friend, the member for Blackburn, and anyone who sees that video will be appalled at what happened at that time.

"I have asked for an urgent meeting with the Home Secretary and he has said that he would prefer to wait until the police disciplinary action had taken place, and I understand that. However, I want to make it absolutely clear that I will pursue this case vigorously because I am very concerned about it.

"I believe the House should be concerned about what happened that tragic night and about what has happened since, in all the investigations, and recognise that the only way in which we can satisfy the family and the wider public -- because wider concerns are now being expressed -- is by a full public inquiry."