The coroner presiding over the inquest into the death of Mark Duggan has said he will now accept a majority verdict.

Judge Keith Cutler made the announcement a week after the jury retired to consider whether or not the 29-year-old was killed lawfully or unlawfully.

Jurors were told last week their decision had to be unanimous.

Today, Mr Cutler told the jury he will accept an 9-1 or 8-2 majority after four days of deadlock in trying to reach a unanimous conclusion.

Mr Duggan was shot dead by an armed police officer in Ferry Lane, Tottenham on August 4, 2011, after the minicab he was travelling in was stopped as part of an police operation to tackle gun crime.

His death sparked riots across Tottenham which later spread across the country.

The coroner told jurors they could decide he was either shot lawfully or unlawfully, or return an open verdict.

However, Judge Cutler stressed that they must be sure "beyond all reasonable doubt" that Mr Duggan was unarmed to return an unlawful killing conclusion.

In hearings at the Royal Courts of the Justice the officer who fired the fatal shot claimed he did so in self-defence when he saw Mr Duggan point a gun at him.

However, when the police searched Mr Duggan's body they found no gun.

A gun, wrapped in a dark sock, was later recovered between 10ft and 20ft away in a grass area behind a wall.

As Mr Cutler summed up the evidence last week, he said: "This is not a trial, it is not a method of apportioning blame on an individual.

"It's a public method of establishing facts, and getting to the truth."

The jury is expected to return a verdict at any time within the next few days.