The operation, carried out by GMP officers, involved armed police stopping an Audi in a car park. The vehicle had been stolen and had false registration plates.

A bullet fired by an officer passed through the windscreen and hit Mr Grainger, from Bolton.

A CS canister was also deployed by one of the firearms team.

It later emerged that the unarmed father of two had earlier been wrongly suspected of stealing a memory stick containing the names of police informants.

Prosecutors decided the marksman who killed Mr Grainger should not face charges for murder, manslaughter or misconduct in public office because a jury would be likely to accept that he believed his actions were necessary.

It later emerged that the unarmed father of two had earlier been wrongly suspected of stealing a memory stick containing the names of police informants.