Anonymity rule gives 'impunity' to police says charity boss

NEW rules giving anonymity to firearms officers accused of murder put police above the scrutiny faced by the rest of the public, the head of the charity Inquest has warned.

- By MARGARET DAVIS

The legal change, being put before Parliament, was announced in the autumn after Metropolitan Police officer Martyn Blake was cleared of the murder of Chris Kaba.

Mr Kaba was fatally shot in Streatham in September 2022 after trying to ram his way past police cars that had blocked him in.

Deborah Coles, a director at Inquest, said: “Introducing a pre-sumption of anonymity for firearms officers sets a dangerous precedent: that police officers are above the scrutiny faced by everyone else.