Mark Duggan Buried

I was dismayed to see the funeral of Mark Duggan today. His family insist he was no gangster but we had a funeral akin to one of the Krays.

I was pleased to hear some of the church leaders involved in the ceremony speaking out against violence and recriminations.

I am not surprised at all that David Lamentable, the disgraceful MP for Tottenham, is still blaming everyone else for the riots. His attention has turned to the IPCC. He now states that if the IPCC had dealt with the family and community differently all the rioting could have been avoided. If the IPCC had made clear to the family that they were independent of the police and if they had held a press conference assuring everyone that a thorough inquiry would be carried out none of the rioting need have happened. Isn't the clue in the name? This pathetic, apology for an MP will never ever suggest that some of the people of Tottenham were wrong to start rioting because the IPCC hadn't given them enough respect. Innit.

The IPCC do have some questions to answer. How did they manage to put out a press release stating that Duggan died in an exchange of fire with police? Why did the IPCC not tell the family that Duggan had been shot and killed? Calls for the disbandment of the IPCC are ridiculous. Whatever organisation or process is put in place to investigate police action will never appease some.

I am disappointed that the family, and some of those that latch themselves onto families in these circumstances, are still making ridiculous speculative comments regarding the circumstances of Duggan's death. According to some, the police now have a shoot to kill policy. Duggan's fingerprints are not on the gun found at the scene and so it must have been planted by the police. Duggan was an ordinary family man who was hoping to get a job with London Fire Brigade.

We should, of course, wait for the result of the inquiry but these ridiculous allegations deserve a response. For an unemployed man Duggan had a lifestyle way beyond a person in receipt of benefits. The gun found at the scene was loaded and capable of being fired. The gun was in a sock. This is a well known method for  criminals to avoid leaving fingerprints and other forensic evidence. The inquiry may reveal that the police had intelligence that Duggan intended to shoot the person who killed his cousin, Kelvin Easton. He had been stabbed during an argument about a woman and drugs. The police were following Duggan and made the decision to intercept him. What threat Duggan posed to justify being shot is the only real question. If the officer felt he was at threat from the weapon that should be the end of it.