Doubts over police version of Duggan killing as London riots spread

London police said Monday they had arrested 100 people in a second night of rioting in Tottenham, following weekend unrest sparked by the death of a man in a police shooting. And doubts have arisen over the police account of the killing.

Reuters/Stefan Wermuth

The riots spread to other areas of the capital Sunday.

At least nine police officers were injured as youths attacked shops, cars and threw missiles at police in Brixton, in the south of the city, Enfield, Walthamstow and Islington in the north, and on the central shopping area of Oxford Street.

Doubts emerged over the official version the shooting of 29-year-old Mark Duggan, which sparked the riots that followed a peaceful protest march over Duggan's death.

Police claimed that he was killed in an exchange of fire after officers stopped a taxi he was travelling in during an operation against gun crime among the black community.

But ballistics tests are reported to show that a bullet lodged in an officer’s radio was police issue, indicating that Duggan may not have opened fire.

The violence is the worst for decades, less than 12 months before London hosts the Olympic Games.

Police deployed extra officers in flashpoint areas on Sunday night, but there was still widespread looting, with young men seen walking out of ransacked stores laden with electrical goods.