Duggan family have no confidence in IPCC investigation

The family of Mark Duggan, the man who was shot dead by police in August, have no confidence in the official investigation into his death.

The Tottenham man's death, which is said to have triggered the summer riots that blighted London and other cities in England, is being investigated by the Independent Police Complaints Commission.

Father-of-four Duggan was a passenger in a minicab which was stopped in Tottenham by police as part of a planned operation. He died of a single gunshot wound to the chest.

But at the pre-inquest hearing at North London Coroner's Court in High Barnet, the lawyer representing the Duggan family said they were critical of the IPCC's handling of the case.

Michael Mansfield QC said,

The problem for the family is a complete breakdown in confidence for this investigation. While normally this question might not have to be asked because confidence is automatic, on this occasion, from the beginning, there has been misinformation, a lack of information, and conflicting information.

The lack of information being made available to the family and friends of Duggan is said to have triggered off the initial unrest in Tottenham, which then spread across the country in a matter of days.

The IPCC also admitted making a mistake by saying Duggan had fired at officers, which was repeated as fact by the mainstream media. Lead investigator for the IPCC Colin Sparrow also added that a gun found at the scene did not contain the fingerprints, DNA or blood relating to Duggan.

The gun which was found at the scene was found 14ft away from the crime scene in Ferry Lane on the other side of a fence. Sparrow said that the gun could have been thrown over the fence by a police officer.

Sparrow was also asked to explain why the pathologist's interim report was not made available to the family, who were also not told about the trajectory of the fatal bullet which would have clarified the position of the officers and Duggan.

The investigator for the IPCC, which has been granted interested-party status in the inquest, said the report contained only a cause of death and the family were told verbally.

Mansfield also told the hearing the family requested that an independent pathologist carry out tests on Mr Duggan's body, and for them to be given the chance to discuss their findings with the original pathologist - but this had not been allowed.

A full inquest into Duggan's death is expected to last between four and eight weeks and is likely to take place in September 2012.