A judge overseeing the inquest into the death of Mark Duggan at the hands of armed police says he is doing all he can to establish the truth about the “great tragedy”.

Judge Keith Cutler will head the independent investigation into the fatal shooting of the 29-year-old in Ferry Lane, Tottenham, in August 2011.

The inquest is expected to last between eight and ten weeks when it begins on Monday, during which time the court will hear evidence from around 100 witnesses.

Among them will be police officers, members of the public, experts in DNA, ballistics and fibre transfer, as well as the officer who fired the fatal shots.

Judge Cutler, who was appointed to the case in January after delays forced his predecessor to step down, says the length of time it has taken to bring about the start of the inquest has been “regrettable”.

Speaking to the Haringey Independent during an interview at the Royal Courts of Justice today, he said: “It is absolutely regrettable. The family is very upset about the delay. It was partly caused by two other trials related to this matter and the amount of material we have had to consider.

“It is an enormous amount of work to be done and we couldn’t have done it much quicker. It is important all the parties feel we’re presenting all of the evidence available. I think that satisfies the family and the police that everything is out there.”

Several members of the legal team brought in to instruct the inquest worked on the case of Azelle Rodney, who was shot dead by armed police under similar circumstances in Edgware in 2005.

A jury of 11 people from the Haringey and the wider north London area will be selected on Monday.

They are expected to retire after hearing all the evidence, including site visits to the scene of the shooting in Ferry Lane, Tottenham, in late November but Judge Cutler said it could take “some time” before a verdict is reached.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission has conducted its own review into the incident but has delayed publication of its report under the request of Judge Cutler to avoid prejudicing the jury's verdict.

The watchdog only recently completed its enquiry and Judge Cutler admitted he was getting “a little bit cross” at the amount of time it was taking for the investigation to conclude.

Mr Duggan’s death in 2011 sparked the summer riots in Tottenham that spread across the capital and throughout the UK.

Judge Cutler said he was well aware of the extent of public feeling surrounding the case.

He said: “This inquest will not decide anything on the London riots but if people can look at how the inquest is conducted and see that we’re doing everything we can to establish the truth about Mark Duggan’s death then that helps everyone in Tottenham.

“People will have their own opinions of how this should conclude but I hope everyone feels we have carried out a full investigation and established the truth of what happened on that day and in those vital minutes that led up to Mark Duggan’s death.

“It is a great tragedy and everyone says it should have been avoided. Part of what we’re doing is looking to see if it could and should have been avoided.”