Cooper criticises lack of action since Mark Duggan shooting

Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has criticised the Government for failing to take action to address issues from policing to crime prevention since last year’s riots, while questions have been asked as to why officers involved in the shooting of Mark Duggan have not yet given evidence.

A service took place marking the death of the 29-year-old who was killed by police in London last August after armed officers stopped a taxi he was travelling in as part of an investigation into gun crime. The days following his death saw violent riots spread across towns and cities with the police service stretched to maintain law and order.

Ms Cooper accused the Government of failing to take action and learn lessons from the riots, saying it did not make an adequate response to a report published by the Riots, Communities and Victims Panel last year, set up to look into the causes of the riots.

She said: “Twelve months on, more still needs to be done to learn the lessons and take action to prevent it ever happening again. It is very disappointing that the Government has so far failed to set out a proper programme of action and formal response to the Riots, Communities and Victims Panel. The panel made clear action was needed on issues from policing to crime prevention, community resilience to long-term unemployment. That means addressing the problems for policing, where frontline officers are now being cut. It needs a serious focus on crime prevention, including targeting known offenders and gangs, building community resilience, working with problem families and addressing community concerns over stop and search.”

The inquest into Mr Duggan’s death has been pushed back to January 2013.

The firearms officers involved have so far refused to be interviewed by investigators. The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) has said it needs additional powers to assist its investigations as, under current measures, it cannot compel officers to be interviewed nor can it force them to provide statements unless it is in relation to criminal charges.

Mark’s mother, Pam Duggan, said: “The past 12 months have been terrible. We still have no answers about why my son died. Thirty one police officers surrounded Mark and he was shot twice. Why? Why have none of the police officers given statements, one year on?

“People need to be held to account for my son’s death. There needs to be a full inquest, in front of a jury of ordinary men and women, to find out the truth.”

The IPCC is currently compiling a report that will be passed to a coroner in the autumn. There is a possibility that some evidence about police operations will need to be heard in secret, as current measures dictate that the existence and content of intercept evidence cannot be disclosed to a coroner or heard in a public court, which would mean that a special inquiry would need to be held instead.