Public inquiry of unarmed man fatally shot by police marksman to begin

A public inquiry into the death of a man shot by police is due to open.

Anthony Grainger, 36, from Bolton, was unarmed when he was shot by a Greater Manchester Police marksman during an operation in Culcheth, Cheshire, in March 2012.

Following an extensive covert surveillance operation, police believed they had intelligence Mr Grainger and two others were planning an armed robbery on a Sainsbury's store.

Last year, then-Home Secretary Theresa May announced Mr Grainger's inquest would be converted into a statutory inquiry led by a judge with greater investigative powers.

The inquiry, chaired by Judge Thomas Teague QC, is due to open at Liverpool Crown Court on Tuesday.

Judge Teague has already ruled the officer who shot Mr Grainger will be screened from the public and his family when he gives evidence because of a risk to his safety.

The officer will be kept anonymous through proceedings and referred to as Q9.

Mr Grainger was shot through the windscreen of the stolen Audi car he was in when police carried out the attempted arrest.

David Totton, Robert Rimmer and Joseph Travers, all from Manchester, were arrested at the scene but later found not guilty of conspiracy to rob following a trial at Manchester Crown Court in September 2012.

In January last year, a prosecution of Sir Peter Fahy, the former chief constable of Greater Manchester Police, over alleged health and safety breaches linked to Mr Grainger's death, collapsed after prosecutors argued some evidence gathered by police was so secret, it would not be in the public interest to be given in court.