The Los Angeles police department has been ordered to pay £1.1 million to the family of murdered rapper Notorious B.I.G for withholding crucial evidence linked to his death.

The trial against the city, which is hoped will discover the truth behind Biggie's shooting, was halted in 2005 in light of the revelations and a retrial will open later this year.

During initial hearings last summer it emerged that LA police had not submitted evidence from a jailhouse informer that two rogue officers were linked to the murder.

Officers David Mack and Rafael Perez are alleged to be linked to Death Row record label boss and real-life gangster Suge Knight.

One-time friend to Biggie (real name Chrtistopher Wallace) and eventual rival Tupac Shakur, who were murdered within months of each other, was signed to Death Row.

The alleged link between their murders and Suge, who has spent years in jail for racketeering, remains shadowy and the subject of much gossip.

A judge ruled that individuals within the police department had deliberately attempted to conceal the evidence, and that it was crucial to the outcome of the case.