A group of men have appeared at the Old Bailey accused of plotting to murder another young man with a rapper who was later shot dead by police.

The offence relates to a shooting in Hackney Road in Tower Hamlets, on August 30 last year in which the victim survived.

On September 5 last year, Wembley rapper and father-to-be Chris Kaba died after he was hit by a single gunshot fired by an armed Metropolitan Police officer in Kirkstall Gardens, Streatham Hill, shortly after 10pm.

On Friday, Shemiah Bell, Hamza Abdi, Connel Bamgboye and Simeon Glasgow appeared at the Old Bailey by video link from Thameside and High Down prisons.

The other two defendants, Marcus Pottinger, 20, from Brixton, and Carl Tagoe, 28, of no fixed address, were not required to attend the hearing.

According to the indictment, all six men are accused of conspiring together and with Mr Kaba, 24, to murder Brendon Malutshi on August 30 last year.

They are also charged with conspiring together and with Mr Kaba to cause grievous bodily harm to Mr Malutshi.

They are further charged with possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life and with intent to cause fear of violence in Hackney Road, Tower Hamlets, on the same date.

Abdi is charged with assisting an offender by driving an unnamed male away from the scene of the shooting in a Range Rover with intent to impede the apprehension and prosecution of that person.

It is alleged he committed the offence “knowing or believing that person to be guilty of attempted murder or some other relevant offence”.

Pottinger is charged with four further firearms offences allegedly committed on December 16 last year.

It is alleged he had a .32 Rimfire Calibre Revolver in Samuel Johnson Close in Streatham, with intent to cause fear of violence.

During the hearing, Judge Simon Mayo KC confirmed that a plea hearing would take place on May 2 with a provisional trial from November 13.

Bell, 31, from Lambeth; Abdi, 23, from Wandsworth; Bamgboye, 28, from Lambeth; and Glasgow, 30, of Lambeth, were further remanded into custody.

Your Local Guardian: A damaged white Tesla at the scene in Kirkstall Gardens, Streatham Hill, south London, where rapper Chris Kaba was shot by armed officers from the Metropolitan Police following a pursuit (Image: PA Wire/PA Images)A damaged white Tesla at the scene in Kirkstall Gardens, Streatham Hill, south London, where rapper Chris Kaba was shot by armed officers from the Metropolitan Police following a pursuit (Image: PA Wire/PA Images) (Image: PA Wire/PA Images)

The firearms officer who fatally shot Mr Kaba was suspended from duty in September.

Stormzy and Hackney MP Diane Abbott were among those at a protest supporting the family of Mr Kaba after his fatal shooting in September.

An inquest was opened and adjourned in October while the circumstances of the shooting are investigated by watchdog the Independent Office for Police Conduct.

Relatives of Mr Kaba said they were “concerned” by the resignations of two senior officials from the watchdog investigating what happened.

Last month, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) concluded its homicide investigation into the fatal shooting of Mr Kaba and referred a file of evidence to the Crown Prosecution Service.