Firearms officers are on trial over police shootings and will remain anonymous after the Chris Kaba case, the interior minister says

Firearms officers on trial for police shootings will not be named in criminal proceedings, the interior minister has announced.

Yvette Cooper made the announcement after police shooter Martyn Blake was acquitted by a jury on Monday of the murder of Chris Kaba in Streatham, south London, in September 2022.

Mr Blake, 40, fired a single bullet through the windscreen of the Audi Q8 24 years old Kaba was driving when armed officers surrounded the car as he tried to escape.

The Metropolitan Police firearms officer was named for the first time in March this year when a judge overturned an anonymity order after media organizations challenged the legal request to protect his identity.

He was previously known by the codename NX121 after threats were made against him.

Ms Cooper said the officers would now remain anonymous until they were sentenced.

She said the ruling would form part of an upcoming crime and policing bill.

She told the House of Commons: “When officers act on behalf of the state in the most dangerous situations, it is vital that those officers and their families are not put in further danger in subsequent legal proceedings. Therefore, we will introduce a presumption of anonymity for firearms officers who face criminal charges following a shooting by police in the course of their professional duties, pending conviction.”

Ms Cooper said Mr Kabas’s death and Mr Blake’s trial came against a backdrop of “decreased public confidence in policing and the criminal justice system across the country”.

There is “lower trust among black communities,” she said.

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