Police in Florida are about to release hundreds of files on the murder of fashion designer Gianni Versace, shot dead outside his Miami home last July.

For weeks the Versace family has raised objections to the release of personal information about the flamboyant designer but now most of those objections have been dropped, although the family's lawyers are still seeking to block the release of autopsy photographs taken in the wake of the murder. Our correspondent Stephen Sackur reports.

Police in Miami Beach launched a massive investigation after the murder of Gianni Versace.

The hunt for his killer ended when police shot dead Andrew Cunanan, a homosexual drifter who police believe was also responsible for several other murders across America.

But the police enquiries continued into why Cunanan - one of America's most wanted fugitives - was not apprehended earlier and into Mr Versace's personal circumstances and possible connections with his killer.

The Versace family tried to block the publication of the 700-page police report, concerned it would reveal financially and sexually embarrassing details.

In the end the family's lawyers limited themselves to a lawsuit designed to block the release of autopsy photographs taken after the murder.