Tottenham Riots: Mark Duggan 'Had Loaded Gun'

Mark Duggan, whose death sparked the Tottenham riots, 'had a loaded gun' when he was shot, a court heard today.

Giving evidence at Snaresbrook Crown Court, Kevin Hutchinson-Foster, the man accused of passing the gun to Mr Duggan, claimed the 29-year-old was armed.

Hutchinson-Foster is accused of "selling or transferring" a BBM Bruni Model 92 handgun to Mr Duggan, contrary to the Firearms Act 1968, between July 28 and August 5, 2011. The 30-year-old denies the offence.

Mr Duggan was shot dead while police officers were trying to arrest him in Tottenham, north London last August.

The jury heard that the handgun allegedly supplied by Mr Hutchinson-Foster was found near the spot where Mr Duggan was shot.

Prosecutor Edward Brown QC told the court: "On August 4 last year a handgun was recovered in Ferry Lane in Tottenham, north London.

"It had been in the possession of a man named Mark Duggan. The gun was loaded - it had a bullet in its magazine.

"The evidence demonstrates that that gun at that scene had been passed to Mark Duggan by this defendant, Kevin Hutchinson-Foster, shortly before the minicab in which Mark Duggan was travelling was stopped by police in Ferry Lane in Tottenham Hale.

"There in Ferry Lane Mark Duggan was shot and fatally injured by the police as a result of his possession of that gun and what he was thought to be about to do with it.

"The firearm was a BBM Bruni Model 92 handgun. It had been modified so that it would fire 9mm bullets - a lethal firearm as you will hear. The charge this defendant faces is the supply or transfer of that gun to Mark Duggan."

It was also claimed that Mr Duggan was shot just 12-15 minutes after Hutchinson-Foster allegedly supplied the weapon.

Mr Duggan's mother Pamela has always claimed her son was 'assassinated' and that she and her family have many unanswered questions about the shooting.

The family have been dismayed that the police officers involved in the operation cannot be compelled to be interviewed over what happened.

Both the Metropolitan Police and the IPCC have apologised to the family for failing to keep them properly informed during their investigations.

The incident is still being investigated by the Independent Police Complaints Commission. The inquest into Mr Duggan's death is scheduled to begin next January. 

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