Chris Kaba: Officers on trial after shooting suspects to have anonymity, home secretary says

This comes after Martyn Blake's anonymity was lifted before the trial began, raising concerns about his safety, as Sam Holder reports

Police officers who shoot suspects will be anonymous during criminal trials, the home secretary has announced in the wake of the Chris Kaba case.

Yvette Cooper told the House of Commons there would be a "presumption of anonymity for firearms officers subject to criminal trial... up to the point of conviction".

"When officers act in the most dangerous situations on behalf of the state it is vital that those officers and their families are not put in further danger during any subsequent legal proceedings," she told MPs.

The announcement from the home secretary came after Sergeant Martyn Blake was cleared of murder this week following the death of Chris Kaba in Lambeth in 2022.

Blake's anonymity was lifted before the trial began, raising concerns about his safety.

Cooper said it was crucial that "Sergeant Blake and his family are given the time and space that they will need to recover from what will have been an immensely difficult experience for them".

“For an armed police officer to be prosecuted for actions taken in the course of their duties is very rare so of course this case has raised considerable concerns for the public and the police.”

Cooper also told the Commons that Chris Kaba’s death and the trial of the firearms officer which followed were held against “a backdrop of fallen community confidence in policing and the criminal justice system across the country”.

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The government has also announced a statutory footing for the Independent Office of Police Conduct’s victims’ right-to-review scheme.

The Director of Public Prosecutions will also review the Crown Prosecution Service guidance over charging police officers for offences committed while on duty.

Shadow Home Secretary James Cleverly welcomed most of the announcements, but warned "we have seen too often police leadership bend to inappropriate levels of public pressure”, urging MPs to be "thoughtful and careful" when making comments on social media about cases like that of Chris Kaba.

The prime minister told reporters on Tuesday night: "It is important that the public have confidence in the police including of course the armed police.”

Mr Kaba, who was 24, was unarmed when Mr Blake shot him through the windscreen of an Audi Q8 as he tried to ram his way past police cars on September 5 2022.

It was revealed this week he was a “core member” of one of London’s most dangerous criminal gangs and was allegedly directly linked to two shootings in the six days before he was shot dead by police, a court has revealed to the public after lifting reporting restrictions.

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