New inquest into death of suspected gangster

A fresh inquest into the death of a suspected gangster in Cheshire is due to get underway at the Royal Courts of Justice in London.

Stephen Akinyemi died after being shot in the temple during a fight with Arran Coghlan at the businessman's home in Alderley Edge on February 9 2010.

Mr Coghlan was cleared of Mr Akinyemi's murder and at the first inquest into his death, in 2011, an open verdict was recorded by Cheshire coroner Nicholas Rheinberg.

Mr Coghlan told that inquest that Mr Akinyemi pulled a gun on him and that it went off during a struggle in which he was stabbed several times.

The coroner at the new inquest, Bernard Richmond QC, has said he will consider a claim that Stephen Akinyemi was a police informant.

At an earlier hearing, Mr Richmond said he he would consider if "the nature of the relationship between Mr Akinyemi and the police or state agencies was such as to raise the issue that the police knew the nature of what was going to happen on that day and tolerate it".

The new inquest was due to begin last November, but was moved to February 13 to allow arguments over the disclosure of evidence to take place.