Deputy Chief Constable of Sussex Mark Jordan, suspended over his involvement in a fatal shooting, is to be retired on medical grounds.

Mr Jordan, who authorised the issue of firearms for the ill-fated police operation, has been suspended on full £80,000-a-year pay for 20 months.

He will be entitled to a full pension, about £45,000 a year, and all disciplinary proceedings have been dropped.

The move was criticised by the family of James Ashley, 39, who was naked and unarmed when he was shot dead during the police raid on his flat in Hastings in 1998.

His brother, Tony, 33, speaking at the family home in Liverpool, said they wanted disciplinary proceedings against Mr Jordan to have gone ahead: "We are disgusted but not surprised.

"The council tax payers of Sussex have been let down and we have been let down by the Home Secretary."

David Blunkett rejected the family's calls for a public inquiry but Mr Ashley said they would continue fighting for one.

Friends close to Mr Jordan said he too would welcome a public inquiry so he could defend his actions for the first time.

The deputy had been suspended since February 1999 after a Kent Police inquiry accused him of authorising firearms for the operation without sufficient intelligence information, a charge he has consistently and adamantly refuted.

Lewes MP Norman Baker said he was pleased the case was finally over but it was "unfortunate" Mr Jordan had neither been cleared or disciplined.

He said: "The reasons for his retirement appear to be justified. Nevertheless, it is unfortunate it has come at a time when the Home Secretary has announced a clampdown on medical retirements in the force."

Mr Jordan is the second top officer to leave Sussex Police following the Ashley shooting.

Former chief constable Paul Whitehouse was forced to retire by Mr Blunkett, who demanded restoration of public confidence in Sussex Police.

Mr Jordan told The Argus last night he was constrained from discussing the medical reasons for his retirement but sources said he had been under tremendous pressure and stress and was "gutted" to be going.

Mr Jordan said only: "I am very sad and disappointed to leave under these circumstances."

Sussex Police Authority chairman David Rogers said their decision followed the receipt of "unequivocal medical advice, including an independent opinion".

The authority had taken into account "the enormous pressure under which we expect our chief officers to operate.

"The authority's paramount duty is to ensure the efficient and effective policing of Sussex and it has decided to retire Mr Jordan for reasons of ill health."

He insisted the retirement was legally and morally right. The alternative, he said, was more delay and increased costs both in financial and human terms.

"The authority had no alternative but to act as it did in the public interest."

Delays, he said, had not been the authority's fault.

Mid Sussex MP Nicholas Soames, who described Mr Jordan as a first-class officer, attacked the delays in dealing with the deputy and other officers as a farce.

He said the system needed an overhaul.

The Police Complaints Authority and Sussex Police are expected next week to finally announce any disciplinary measures against three other officers involved in the planning of the operation.

Marksman PC Chris Sherwood, who shot Ashley, was cleared of unlawful killing at the Old Bailey and PC Robert Shoesmith, 39, was cleared of misconduct after the prosecution offered no evidence at the same court. Supt Chris Burton, 44, Acting Chief Insp Kevin French, 48, and Det Insp Christopher Siggs, 42, were cleared of misconduct charges at Wolverhampton Crown Court but these three officers may still face disciplinary penalties.

All five have been reinstated but Mr French has been suspended after he announced his intention to retire.

Mr Jordan retires on January 3, the week before the new chief constable, Ken Jones, takes over.

Mark Jordan was the policeman renowned for having a go.

He injured a knee chasing and capturing a man who broke into his home six years ago and has undergone several operations since.

Three years later, the former Haywards Heath Rugby Club player helped capture three other burglars when they were spotted carrying bundles of stolen goods.

He was also outspoken. He once described delapidated cells at Brighton police station as dungeons and also warned parents not to waste money on a private firm that searched for missing children.

Mr Jordan hit the headlines in 1998 when he criticised officers who accepted free burgers from McDonald's at three outlets in Sussex, insisting there was "no such thing as a free lunch".

Married with three children, he started his career with the Metropolitan Police.

He came to Sussex in 1992 on promotion to superintendent and moved up to assistant chief constable in 1996. He became deputy a year later.

Since his suspension, he has written a book on human rights leglisation and is lecturing law at Brighton University.

As to the future, Mr Jordan told The Argus: "I'm keeping an open mind."