Firearms officers on trial over police shootings will not be named during criminal proceedings, the home secretary has announced.
Yvette Cooper made the announcement after police marksman Martyn Blake was cleared 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 that 24-year-old Kaba was driving as armed officers surrounded the car while he tried to escape.
The Metropolitan Police firearms officer was named for the first time in March this year as a judge lifted an anonymity order after media organisations challenged the legal application to protect his identity.
Before that, he had been known by the codename NX121 after threats were made against him.
Ms Cooper said officers will now remain anonymous until they are convicted.
She said the ruling will be part of an upcoming crime and policing bill.
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She told the House of Commons: “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, so we will therefore introduce a presumption of anonymity for firearms officers subject to criminal trial following a police shooting in the course of their professional duties, up to the point of conviction.”
Ms Cooper said Mr Kaba’s death and the trial of Mr Blake were held against “a backdrop of fallen community confidence in policing and the criminal justice system across the country”.
There is “lower confidence among black communities”, she said.
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