A Tottenham politician has called for reform of a police watchdog after it admitted failings in informing Mark Duggan’s family of his death.

MP David Lammy said that the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) had suffered a “significant credibility gap” in Tottenham and that change was needed to restore trust in the community.

Earlier today, the IPCC upheld a complaint by Mark Duggan’s family that police officers had not formally informed them of his death, and said it should have spoken directly to them when it assumed responsibility for the case from the Metropolitan Police.

The Tottenham father-of-four, 29, was shot dead by officers in Ferry Lane on August 4 last year, sparking anger which culminated in riots across England for four days.

Mr Lammy said: “There were serious errors of judgement by both the IPCC and the Met in the days following Mark Duggan’s death.

“It is any family’s worst nightmare to get a knock on the door telling them that their son or daughter has died. Mark Duggan’s parents weren’t even afforded that courtesy.

“The IPCC has accepted that they made mistakes – very serious mistakes, given the riots that followed. Now we need to see some significant reforms of the IPCC to make sure this never happens again.”

The body has been heavily criticised by Tottenham community leaders for the way it has investigated Mr Duggan’s death and the length of time it has taken.

In November, Stafford Scott, organiser of the Tottenham Defence Campaign, and John Noblemunn, chairman of Haringey Black Independent Advisory Group, stepped down from a community panel monitoring the investigation amid claims that evidence at the scene had been tampered with.

The IPCC told journalists the day after the incident that Mr Duggan had fired at officers, which later turned out to be incorrect, and the Haringey Independent revealed that the woman in charge of the investigation had taken a two-and-a-half week holiday after the shooting.

IPCC commissioner Rachel Cerfontyne provoked anger from people at a public meeting in Tottenham when she revealed she had been on holiday, minutes after asking the public to be patient with the pace of the investigation.

The probe into the full circumstances of Mr Duggan’s death continues.