Chris Kaba shooting: Police Federation ‘bitterly disappointed’ after judge rules officer charged with murder will be named
The Police Federation has said it is “seriously concerned and bitterly disappointed” after a judge ruled a Metropolitan Police firearms officer charged with murder will be publicly named.
The officer, who had previously been known only as NX121, is facing trial at the Old Bailey over the shooting of 24-year-old Chris Kaba in Streatham Hill, south London, on 6 September 2022.
In a ruling at the Old Bailey, judge Mark Lucraft said the police officer will be named publicly on 30 January.
The judge said the officer’s date of birth will be made public next year, but their home address or any image of them cannot be published.
The Crown Prosecution Service’s decision to bring a murder charge sparked concern among some police officers as more than 100 Met officers refused to carry their weapons.
The crisis has since been resolved as they returned to normal duties, but armed officers around the country said before today’s ruling they might down their guns if the officer was publicly named.
Steve Hartshorn, chair of the Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW), said in a statement after the judge’s ruling: “PFEW is seriously concerned and bitterly disappointed about the potential ramifications of publishing the officer’s name and date of birth in January 2024.
“We know that this concern is shared by many officers of all ranks and roles across the country, but more so in the world of armed policing as they understand the threat and risk taken in the protection of the public more so than others.
“Officers are not looking to be above the law, but they must have confidence that they have the protection needed to do the difficult and dangerous job society expects of them.”
Meanwhile, Harry Tangye, a former armed response officer for Devon and Cornwall Police, told Sky News: “I think [the judge’s ruling) is going to have a huge impact on recruitment.
“Recruitment for armed response was probably bad enough, but now even if a potential officer was keen to joined the armed response, their families are going to say ‘not on your nelly, you do not do that’.
“For the same money police officers can do frontline policing, which is just as difficult but doesn’t hold the risks.”
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‘It will have a huge impact on recruitment’
In his ruling, the judge said he had viewed “raw underlying intelligence material” before coming to the conclusion there was not a “real and immediate risk” to the life of the defendant or to their family.
Mr Kaba, a father-to-be, died from a single gunshot wound to the head after the Audi he was driving was blocked in by a police vehicle.
In response to the announcement, Assistant Commissioner Matt Twist said the decision will be “hugely concerning” for officers, adding the Metropolitan Police had “supported the anonymity hearing by providing evidence and factual information”.
He said: “I recognise that for officers this decision will be hugely concerning, and that the impact of this and recent cases is felt right across armed policing and beyond.
“We take seriously the open justice principle, however it was important to make the court aware of the effect that loss of anonymity would have in this case.
“We acknowledge the judgment by the court and note the detailed and careful consideration that has taken place.”
The officer was charged with murder on 20 September this year and appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court the following day.
Usually, defendants are named publicly at the point they are charged with a criminal offence, but District Judge Nina Tempia put an order in place banning publication of anything that would identify the officer, ahead of further legal hearings at the Old Bailey.
A plea and trial preparation hearing is due to take place on 1 December, with a trial potentially starting on 9 September next year.
Birmingham band UB40 say the city’s striking bin workers and their union should “keep fighting” in their dispute over pay.
It comes as the government and the council urged them to accept a “fair and reasonable offer”.
“We’re fully on their side,” drummer Jimmy Brown told Sky News. “I think they shouldn’t give up, they should still be fighting.
“Working people shouldn’t have to take a reduction in their incomes, which is what we’re talking about here.
“We’re talking about people being paid less and it seems to me with prices going up, heating, buying food, inflation and rents going up then people need a decent wage to have a half decent life… keep going boys!”
Members of the Unite union in Birmingham earlier this month. Pic: PA
Workers joined picket lines again on Thursday, with some fearing they could be up to £600 a month worse off if they accept the terms.
“We have total utter support for the bin men and all trade unions,” said guitarist Robin Campbell.
“The other side is always going to say they’ve made a reasonable offer – the point is they’re the ones who’ve messed up, they’re the ones who’ve gone bankrupt, they’re the ones now trying to reduce the bin men’s wages.”
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Lead singer Matt Doyle told Sky News: “It’s a shame that what we’re seeing is all the images of rats and rubbish building up, that is going to happen inevitably, but we’ve just got to keep fighting through that.”
About 22,000 tonnes of rubbish accumulated on the city’s streets after a major incident was declared last month by Birmingham City Council.
Rubbish has blighted the city’s streets for weeks . Pic: PA
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Bin situation ‘pains me’ – council boss
On a visit to the city, local government minister Jim McMahon said the union and local authority should continue to meet in “good faith” and the government felt there was a deal that could be “marshalled around”.
He paid tribute to the “hundreds of workers” who have worked “around the clock” to clear the rubbish.
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“As we stand here today, 85% of that accumulated waste has been cleared and the council have a plan in place now to make sure it doesn’t accumulate going forward,” said Mr McMahon.
Sky News understands talks are not set to resume until next week.
Trans women in British Transport Police custody will now be strip searched by male officers – not female – following Wednesday’s Supreme Court ruling.
The force said it is introducing an “interim position” while it digests the Supreme Court’s decision that the definition of a “woman” under the Equality Act 2010 refers to “a biological woman and biological sex”.
A British Transport Police (BTP) Authority spokesman told Sky News: “Under previous policy, we had advised that someone with a gender recognition certificate (GRC) may be searched in accordance with their acquired sex.
“However, as an interim position while we digest today’s judgment, we have advised our officers that any same sex searches in custody are to be undertaken in accordance with the biological birth sex of the detainee.”
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In September last year, BTP, which is responsible for policing the UK’s railways and similar transport systems, published its “position” on transgender and non-binary officers carrying out strip searches.
It said officers would “only be able to search persons of the same sex on their birth or gender recognition certificate (GRC).
Officers who identified as another gender but who did not have a GRC were not allowed to, but if a trans woman had a certificate, they could strip search a female detainee.
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Gender ruling – How it happened
Strip searches involve the removal of more than a jacket, outer coat, gloves, headwear and footwear.
They “expose buttocks, genitalia and (female) breasts”, the BTP guidance says.
The Sex Matters campaign applied for a judicial review of that guidance with the High Court in December.
It said the policy “puts detainees at risk of sexual harassment and sexual assault”, and said it was a violation of Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which protects against torture and inhuman or degrading treatment.
Sex Matters said the policy “also puts female officers in a humiliating and dangerous position, as they may be pressured to search trans-identified men”.
Read more: NHS must stop trans people being allowed on single-sex wars
Campaigners celebrated outside the Supreme Court after Wednesday’s ruling. Pic: PA
One of the High Court judges who made Wednesday’s decision, Lord Hodge, said the ruling should not be read as “a triumph of one or more groups in our society at the expense of another”.
Government minister Karin Smyth told Sky News public bodies have been told to look at how equality laws are implemented following the ruling.
She said: “Obviously, public bodies have been asked to look at their own guidance.
“And we will do that very, very carefully.”
But she warned against public bodies making statements “that may alarm people”, telling them to take their time to look at their guidance.
Baroness Kishwer Falkner, chair of the UK’s Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), said the ruling means there is “no confusion” now.
She said the NHS will “have to change” its 2019 policy, which says transgender patients are entitled to be accommodated on single-sex wards matching how they identify.
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