Police shot Duggan 'with a loaded gun in his hand'

Armed police shot Mark Duggan as he got out of a cab holding a loaded gun he had collected 15 minutes earlier, a court heard yesterday.

The 29-year-old's death in Tottenham, north London, sparked riots that swept across the capital and the country. Yesterday Kevin Hutchinson-Foster, 30, went on trial at Snaresbrook Crown Court accused of passing the gun to Mr Duggan, a charge he denies.

The court heard that Mr Duggan had been under surveillance on 4 August, the day he died. The prosecution claims he took a minicab to collect the gun from Mr Hutchinson-Foster in Leyton, east London, before continuing to Tottenham.

Opening the case, prosecutor Edward Brown QC said Mr Duggan was followed by armed police who decided to carry out a "hard stop".

"The armed police surrounded the cab but as Mr Duggan got out he was seen to have the gun in his hand," he said. "The police marksmen were in no doubt that this was as dangerous a position as possible – gun in hand – and he was seen to start to bring it round as if to shoot." The trial continues.