REBELLION BY GUN COPS FORCES SOLDIERS TO STEP IN

'Brave firearms officers protect us....they must not fear ending up in dock for carrying out their duties'

- Cyril Dixon

SOLDIERS are on standby to cover for armed police who are refusing to carry guns after a fellow officer was charged with murder.

Army marksmen will step in for police tackling terror attacks after Met officers refused to bear weapons for fear of being prosecuted if suspects are shot dead.

Up to 100 specialist firearms police have handed in their permission to carry guns.

They say they are worried about a colleague being charged with the murder of Chris Kaba, 24, who died after being shot in South London last year.

The crisis has prompted Home Secretary Suella Braverman into ordering an armed policing review.

She reassured firearms officers that they have her "full backing".

Ms Braverman said they should not fear "ending up in the dock for carrying out their duties".

She added: "We depend on our brave firearms officers to protect us from the most dangerous and violent in society. In the interest of public safety they have to make split-second decisions under extraordinary pressures.

"They mustn't fear ending up in the dock for carrying out their duties. Officers risking their lives to keep us safe have my full backing and I will do everything in my power to support them.

"That's why I have launched a review to ensure they have the confidence to do their jobs while protecting us all."

In a letter released yesterday, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mark Rowley wrote to the Home Secretary saying that the police needed to be allowed to police.

He added: "Frontline officers now routinely tell me they are more afraid of the legal processes that will follow from an incident than they are of confronting dangerous or armed criminals."