Mark Duggan's family lose bid to overturn lawful killing verdict

Shot dead: Mark Duggan

The family of Mark Duggan have lost their bid to overturn an inquest verdict that he was lawfully killed when shot dead by a police marksman.

The 29-year-old was gunned down in a “hard stop” in Tottenham in August 2011, after police received information he was part of a gang and had collected a gun.

His death sparked protests in the local community against the police, and led to four days of rioting in towns and cities around England.

At his inquest, which concluded in January 2014, a jury found that Mr Duggan had dropped the gun on to a grass verge as soon as he got out of the minicab which had been stopped by police.

But they also ruled the police marksman, known as V53, “honestly believed” Mr Duggan still had the firearm when he shot him twice.

Mr Duggan’s mother Pamela challenged the outcome, arguing the 8-2 majority verdict was not “safe” and suggested the coroner “fell into error”.

She unsuccessfully argued her case at the High Court in October 2014, and today lost a Court of Appeal bid to quash the inquest verdict.

Hugh Southey QC, representing Mrs Duggan, argued that coroner Judge Keith Cutler “directed the jury that the lawfulness of the lethal force, and the question of whether V53 was acting in self-defence, should be judged solely by reference to V53’s honest belief as to the threat posed”.

He added: “They were not told that, in deciding whether the belief was honestly held, they should consider whether or not that belief was based on reasonable grounds.”

Submitting that the direction was unlawful, the QC said the coroner “failed to direct the jury to consider whether V53’s belief was reasonable”.

However, Master of the Rolls Sir Terence Etherton, sitting with Lord Justice Davis and Lord Justice Underhill said in the ruling: “It was entirely unnecessary to give a direction to the jury on the relevance of the reasonableness or otherwise of V53’s belief that Mr Duggan was pointing a gun at V53.

“The whole point of the evidence of those who were present and saw the shooting was to establish whether V53 had reasons for holding that belief.”

He said the coroner had “properly reminded the jury of all relevant features of the evidence”.

Mr Southey earlier told the court the Duggan family do not want a fresh inquest because the original hearing was “traumatic” and they did not want to go through it again.

No one from the Duggan family was in court this morning. The family was also refused permission to appeal to the Supreme Court.

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