‘POLICE MURDERERS’ was the cry that greeted the Jury’s verdict yesterday afternoon at the conclusion of the inquest into the police killing of Mark Duggan.
The Duggan family was extremely angry at the finding as were those listening in the hall to the verdict.
Outside the court, the family lawyer said: ‘The jury found that he had no gun in his hand and yet he was gunned down. For us, that is an unlawful killing.
‘As you can see, the family is in a state of shock but we would ask that you would respect their shock. They can’t believe that this has been the outcome.
‘No gun in his hand and yet he was shot, murdered as they say. No gun.’
Mark Duggan’s aunt, Carole Duggan, said: ‘The majority of the people in this country know that Mark was executed.’
The jury decided by a majority of 8-2 that Mark was lawfully killed and also by 8-2 that he didn’t have a gun in his hand at the time he was shot.
The jury also decided that the police had not fully followed up all of the evidence, and that Duggan had tossed a gun out of the cab into a neighbouring garden.
The jury’s inquest verdict was met with cries of ‘Murderers’ from Mark Duggan’s family and friends.
The jury decided that the police had not followed up the evidence properly, but that they had intervened and stopped Duggan’s vehicle at the proper place, while Duggan had disposed of the gun by throwing it into a nearby garden.
By eight to two the jury decided that Duggan was not armed at the time he was shot but, despite that, he was still lawfully killed by the police, even though he was not holding a gun.
The hall and the corridors outside the court resounded with shouts and angry cries of ‘police murderers’ after the verdict was announced.
• A new law which gives courts the power to order the eviction of families of people convicted of ‘anti-social behaviour’ is currently going through parliament.
The Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Bill has already been approved in principle by MPs and was being scrutinised by peers yesterday.
The idea for the new legislation arose after the youth uprising which swept Britain following the police killing of Mark Duggan in August 2011.
Prime Minister Cameron said those involved ‘should lose’ their right to housing at a subsidised rate.
The government says the new law will send a ‘strong signal’ to ‘potential offenders’.
But the Joint Human Rights Committee of MPs and peers warned about its ‘serious’ impact on children and other dependents.
The legislation would make tenants in England liable for eviction if they are convicted of serious offences in the property or its vicinity, breach criminal behaviour orders or noise abatement laws.
Tenants in council houses, social housing and private residences convicted of ‘an offence which took place during, and at the scene of, a riot’ anywhere in the UK would also face potential eviction, as would their fellow householders.
Courts could act if cases were brought to them within 12 months of a conviction and if the landlords stated the grounds on which they were seeking the expulsion.
The government says the new sanctions will cause potential offenders to think twice about their actions.
Civil liberties campaigners say the proposals amount to ‘double punishment for the poor’ and risk pushing people into ‘homelessness and destitution’.
