Mark Duggan’s family are suing the Metropolitan Police over the fatal shooting that sparked nationwide riots in 2011.

An inquest jury found the 29-year-old was lawfully killed after armed officers stopped the minicab he was travelling in because of intelligence he was carrying a gun.

A police watchdog, which cleared officers of wrongdoing, found Duggan was likely to have been throwing the weapon to one side as he was shot, but conflicting witness accounts left his family unsatisfied and communities deeply divided over the case.

Civil proceedings being brought by his mother Pamela Duggan, and some of his children, accuse Scotland Yard of liability for the death and seek compensation.

A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said: “We have received a civil claim from Mark Duggan’s family. It would be inappropriate to discuss further while the matter is ongoing.”

London riots spiral out of control Show all 21 1 /21 London riots spiral out of control London riots spiral out of control 633966.bin A riot police officer directs his colleagues to clear people away from a burning car in Clarence Road in Hackney GETTY IMAGES London riots spiral out of control 633903.bin A car burns on a street in Hackney Getty Images London riots spiral out of control 633902.bin Police officers in full riot gear line a street in Hackney Reuters London riots spiral out of control 633790.bin A policeman stands outside a looted furniture shop in Enfield Getty Images London riots spiral out of control 633798.bin A Carpetright store burns on Tottenham High Road, 6 August Matthew Lloyd/Getty Images London riots spiral out of control 633793.bin A double decker bus burns as riot police try to contain a large group of people on a main road in Tottenham, north London, 6 August Leon Neal/AFP/Getty Images London riots spiral out of control 633796.bin Buildings burn on Tottenham High Road, London, 6 August Matthew Lloyd/Getty Images London riots spiral out of control 633797.bin Youths face off with riot police after protesting against the killing of a man by armed police in an attempted arrest, 6 August Matthew Lloyd/Getty Images London riots spiral out of control 633799.bin Protestors face off against riot police lines on Tottenham High Road, 6 August Matthew Lloyd/Getty Images London riots spiral out of control 633681.bin Police respond to riots on Brixton High Street, 6 August GETTY IMAGES London riots spiral out of control 633795.bin A burnt-out police car lays in the street as riot police try to contain a large group of people on a main road in Tottenham, 6 August Leon Neal/AFP/Getty Images London riots spiral out of control 633800.bin A double decker bus burns as riot police try to contain a large group of people on a main road in Tottenham, 6 Augus Leon Neal/AFP/Getty Images London riots spiral out of control 633801.bin A woman walks through the debris with two children as riot police try to contain a large group of people on a main road in Tottenham, 6 August Leon Neal/AFP/Getty Images London riots spiral out of control 633568.bin Aaron Biber, 89, stands outside his hairdressing salon that was ransacked during the riot Getty Images Europe London riots spiral out of control 633569.bin Along with the torched double-decker bus, the burning shell of the building containing Allied Carpets has become the enduring image of the riots PA London riots spiral out of control 633802.bin A fireman stands near a burnt-out pub on High Road in Tottenham, 7 August Leon Neal/AFP/Getty Images London riots spiral out of control 633821.bin Fireman walk past the smouldering remains of a burnt out building after riots on Tottenham High Road, 7 August Dan Kitwood/Getty Images London riots spiral out of control 633570.bin A stranded double-decker bus was set alight as the disorder spread, billowing flames into the High Road for hours Rex Features London riots spiral out of control 633822.bin 7 August: Aaron Biber, 89, assesses the damage to his hairdressing salon after riots on Tottenham High Road Dan Kitwood/Getty Images London riots spiral out of control 633823.bin 7 August: Animals are taken from a pet store after riots on Tottenham High Road Dan Kitwood/Getty Images London riots spiral out of control 633824.bin Police officers stand on Brixton High Street after looting broke out, 8 August Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

Supporters hope that a lower standard of proof in civil proceedings, where findings must be based on the “balance of probabilities”, could produce a different outcome than past proceedings.

Duggan was shot dead by an armed officer known as V53 on 4 August 2011, sparking protests in Tottenham that spiralled into days of riots, arson and looting in London, Birmingham, Bristol, Manchester and other English cities.

A three-month long inquest held in 2014 examined evidence from more than 93 witnesses to conclude that Duggan was lawfully killed.

It heard that Duggan was an active member of one of the most serious criminal gangs in Europe and was believed to be responsible for shooting a man in a nightclub, with intelligence reports suggesting he was storing drugs and seeking a gun.

Duggan collected a handgun from drug dealer Kevin Hutchinson-Foster, who was later jailed for supplying the weapon, minutes before he was shot dead.

Lawyers representing his family suggested police had planted a handgun found on grass 14ft away from his body, but the jury concluded that Duggan had discarded it as the car came to a stop.

V53 said he thought the weapon, hidden in a sock, was pointed in his direction and he opened fire in self-defence. The jury decided the officer “honestly believed” his life was at risk.

But it found unanimously that both Scotland Yard and the Serious Organised Crime Agency could have done more to “gather and react” to intelligence before the shooting.

London Riots

Duggan’s family launched a legal challenge over the inquest’s conclusions but in 2017, Court of Appeal judges ruled the eight to two majority verdict was lawful.

The armed officers involved in the shooting were cleared of any wrongdoing by the Independent Police Complaints Commission in 2015, following a three-and-a-half year investigation.

The watchdog found there was “no credible evidence” to uphold complaints by Duggan’s family that police had moved the gun or that V53 did not use lawful force.

It called for the use of audio and video recording in undercover firearms operations, because the lack of evidence made it “difficult, and on occasions impossible, to know with absolute certainty what happened”.