Thursday, 31 October 2024 — Institute of Race Relations
Following firearms officer Martyn Blake’s acquittal just over a week ago of the murder of Chris Kaba, it did not take long for the home secretary to cave in to demands from the National Police Chiefs Council to rewrite the framework for the investigation and prosecution of police officers. Yvette Cooper’s proposed reforms follow the police script almost to the letter. A ‘presumption of anonymity for firearms officers subject to criminal trial following a police shooting … up to the point of conviction’ is proposed, along with a review of the charging threshold to make prosecution for on-duty actions harder. This after a year of outrage from firearms officers, who threatened to hand in their guns in protest at the CPS decision to prosecute Blake. The Police Federation also reacted angrily when the mental health charity Mind tweeted a message of support for people affected by Chris Kaba’s killing.








Britain’s Home Office is making a “grave mistake” by ignoring a call from the Council of Europe to review its treatment of Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks founder’s wife has warned.


