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At a midnight briefing in Kentish Town police station in north London, officers are shown a photograph of Danny Downes, a large white man with a wispy beard, who has been linked to a shooting in the area.

Swabs on a bullet casing found at the scene have come back with a match to his DNA.

Intelligence suggests he keeps the gun at home.

In the room are MO19 officers, colleagues of Martyn Blake, the firearms officer who was charged with murder after opening fire on the job.

Met Police marksman on trial for Chris Kaba
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Chris Kaba

Blake was acquitted of murdering Chris Kaba last October, but with Wednesday’s police watchdog decision to launch a gross misconduct hearing against Blake, the case still lingers over his unit.

Police officers don’t get paid anything extra for carrying a gun – what they get is the dangerous callouts, and a huge responsibility strapped to their shoulders.

The Kentish town operation, like any shift, is another chance when shots could be fired and split-second risk assessments made in the moment could be scrutinised for months, even years, careers could go on hold with suspended officers publicly named as they go on trial.

More on Chris Kaba

They could end up in prison for the most serious of crimes.

“Why risk it?” many asked themselves during the Blake trial, and at one point, it was reported that up to 300 officers had turned in their firearms permits, allowing them to carry weapons.

The burden of high accountability is what a firearms officer carries with them in their holster, and many would argue, not least the victims’ families of police shootings, that is how it should be; the power to kill in the name of the state must be accompanied by the highest scrutiny.

Armed Met Police officers receive a briefing before a dawn raid to arrest Danny Downes
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Armed Met Police officers receive a briefing before a dawn raid to arrest Danny Downes

‘Crush the spirit of good officers’

Some campaigners feel they are under-scrutinised and have a habit of being acquitted for their actions, but, after the Martyn Blake verdict the Met Commissioner, Mark Rowley, said the system for holding police to account was “broken,” adding “the more we crush the spirit of good officers – the less they can fight crime”.

In a statement on Wednesday, Assistant Commissioner Lawrence Taylor said: “We know another lengthy process will fall heavily on the shoulders of NX121 (Blake’s code name) and more widely our firearms officers who continue to bravely and tirelessly police the streets of London every day to protect the public.”

Chris Kaba’s family said they welcomed the IOPC’s decision, adding: “We hope this leads to him being removed from the Met Police. What Martyn Blake did was deeply wrong.”

In the Kentish Town briefing room, plans for the operation are set out: room layouts, entry points, cordons, risk assessments.

Then Derek Caroll, a specialist tactical firearms commander, tells the room why it is proportional that the planned dawn raid to arrest Downes should involve officers who carry guns.

Derek Caroll, a specialist tactical firearms commander, during a briefing ahead of a dawn raid
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Derek Caroll, a specialist tactical firearms commander, during a briefing ahead of a dawn raid

Caroll said: “Clearly, he has used the firearm in a public place, so that’s the reason armed officers have been deployed… the subject these officers are going to go up against has either immediate possession of a firearm or access to a firearm.

“Because there is a gun outstanding there is a potential risk – he has a propensity to fire the weapon.”

The point seems obvious and laboured, but the case of Martyn Blake and other shootings has made it clear that this stuff needs to be spelled out as often as possible.

Sergeant Blake had been on a similar mission to these officers when he shot 23-year-old Chris Kaba.

The death of Kaba in September 2022

He and other officers were involved in stopping an Audi Q8 used in a shooting in Brixton.

Arguably, there are more variables trying to stop a car than in a dawn house raid where suspects are usually asleep.

With car stops, they can see you coming, it’s not always clear who is driving, and the vehicle itself can be used as a weapon.

All of this played out in the attempted hard stop of the Audi Q8 in September 2022.

The Met Police's hard stop of an Audi driven by Chris Kaba in September 2022
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The Met Police’s hard stop of an Audi driven by Chris Kaba in September 2022

The scene of where Chris Kaba was shot in Brixton
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The scene of where Chris Kaba was shot in Brixton

An unmarked police car was following the vehicle when it turned a corner and Blake’s marked vehicle blocked its path.

Officers didn’t know Kaba was driving the car, and with armed officers now on foot, Kaba tried to ram his way out.

Seconds later, he was shot by a single round through the windscreen.

The police watchdog referred Sergeant Blake to the CPS, and he was charged with murder.

In court, he argued that he had opened fire because it was his genuinely held belief that the driver posed an imminent threat to life and in October last year, the jury found him not guilty.

After the verdict, it emerged that days before he was shot, Chris Kaba himself was alleged to have shot someone in a nightclub, chasing his victim outside, shooting him again.

‘Gung-ho’ behaviour

Equality activist Stafford Scott believes the killing of Chris Kaba is part of a pattern of what he called “gung-ho” behaviour from Metropolitan Police officers against black men.

He feels the hard stop was an unnecessarily “reckless” tactic.

Sky News's Jason Farrell (left) speaks to Equality activist Stafford Scott
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Sky News’s Jason Farrell (left) speaks to Equality activist Stafford Scott

He lists other shooting victims such as Jermaine Baker and Mark Duggan and blames “institutional racism” within the force – pointing to the matching findings of the McPherson report of 1999 and the more recent Lousie Casey Inquiry in 2023, which both made damning conclusions about police racism.

The prosecution in Blake’s case didn’t argue that racism played a part in the shooting, but having watched the trial, Scott says it left many questions.

“What we have again is this notion of ‘honestly held belief’ and that’s why we are going to the European courts because we won’t get justice in this system – ‘honestly held belief’ must be rational,” he says.

“And let’s remember there was all this stuff in the media afterwards about what Chris Kaba did before he was shot, but at the time Martyn Blake shot Chris Kaba he didn’t even know it was Chris Kaba behind the wheel. He didn’t know who it was.”

These arguments, and what happened at the scene, will again be played out in a misconduct hearing, which requires a lower threshold of proof than criminal proceedings and could lead to Blake being sacked from the force.

Like tiptoeing armadillos

In the operation in Kentish Town, for the officers strapping on their Sig MCXs and holstering their Glocks, the last thing they want is to have to use them.

They are trained to only open fire if they believe there is a risk to life, and a large part of their training is also in first aid, be that on victims they find at the scene – or on someone who they have felt compelled to shoot themselves.

Armed police officers ready their weapons before a dawn raid
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Armed police officers ready their weapons before a dawn raid

It is a surreal scene as these heavily tooled-up officers in helmets and body armour stalk through the everyday scene of a dark council estate then, like tiptoeing armadillos, they quietly shuffle up the stairwell with their forcible entry tool kit.

The door is busted down in seconds to the shouts of “armed police!” and after loud negotiations at gunpoint, the highly overweight figure of Downes is brought out and cuffed in his boxer shorts.

The man is so large, it leads to serious debriefing questions afterwards about what to do if a subject is too big to get out of the door and even taking him downstairs is done by bum shuffle.

“There was a knife in a sheet under one of the beds,” says one of the arresting officers to his commander, “and then the firearm found down the side of the sofa, which is quite readily available to the subject.”

“We got him, no shots fired, and we can be nothing but happy with that,” responds the Commander.

The moment armed police smashed in the door of where Downes was staying in a dawn raid before arresting him
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The moment armed police smashed in the door of where Downes was staying in a dawn raid before arresting him

The arrest of Downes
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The arrest of Downes

Success is ‘where shots aren’t fired’

Afterwards, Commander Caroll tells Sky News: “It’s a satisfaction getting the gun back – but unfortunately, there’s guns out there and we are doing these jobs very regularly.

“We get a gun off the street. We get the person arrested and as with every firearms operation – every successful firearms operation, for the Met and for the country – is one where shots aren’t fired.”

Out of 4,000 operations a year, shots are only fired once or twice, but whenever they are, questions will always be asked.

There is a balance between rigorous accountability for the officer, a process of justice for bereaved families and the impact it may have on policing if officers fear their names could become known in criminal networks after they shot a gang member or if someone’s “honestly held belief” is not enough to keep them from jail.

Campaigners and members of Chris Kaba’s family say the Blake verdict shows that officers can kill without consequence – his colleagues say he has already paid a heavy price for doing what he is trained to do.

When they are not on operations to seize guns, MO19 officers patrol London poised to deal with stabbings, shootings and terrorist attacks – there’s little doubt the public wants them to keep doing that.

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Serial paedophile jailed for 46 years
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Downes, 23, has since pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear of harm and possession of a Class B substance.

He is due to be sentenced in June.

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Labour sinks to lowest approval rating of this parliament

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Labour sinks to lowest approval rating of this parliament

Labour has sunk to its lowest approval rating for this parliament, according to a fresh YouGov poll for Sky News.

Sir Keir Starmer’s party is currently on 20% of the vote – the lowest level since last year’s general election and just three points ahead of the Conservatives. on 17% of the vote.

Politics latest: Labour goes on the attack against Reform

Nigel Farage’s Reform UK, which on Tuesday outlined plans to deport hundreds of thousands of migrants if it wins power at the next election, is currently in the lead with 28% of the vote.

Asked about the polling, Nick Thomas-Symonds, the EU relations minister, told Sky News’ Anna Jones that the government had been forced to take “very difficult decisions to stabilise the public finances early in this parliament”.

He said Labour had acted in the “national interest” by securing a reset deal with the EU which lowers costs for supermarkets and shoppers, and which the government hopes to extend.

“That is acting in the national interest, that is not about particular opinion polls you are showing me today,” he said.

“That is about work the prime minister asked me to do and to prepare for before this government came into office and that is what this government does. It does the hard yards of delivery for the British people.”

He added: “What Nigel Farage does is to stoke problems and offer empty promises for their solution.”

Mr Thomas-Symonds, who represents Torfaen, took the fight to Mr Farage in a speech today, where he accused the Reform UK leader of wanting to “reverse our progress” and of “dividing communities and stoking anger”.

The government wants to get a permanent deal with the EU on food and drink agreed in the next 18 months.

The current temporary agreement, which was put in place in June, stopped checks on some fruit and vegetables imported from the EU, which meant no border checks or fees would be paid, and is due to expire in January 2027.

Mr Farage has previously called for the agreement between the UK and EU to be torn up, saying in May that the SPS [sanitary and phytosanitary] provisions agreed that month would push the UK “back into the orbit of Brussels, giving away vast amounts of our sovereignty for very little in return”.

In his speech, Mr Thomas-Symonds said the Tories and Reform UK only offer “easy answers and snake oil” over the UK’s relationship with the EU.

“Some will hysterically cry even treason,” he said. “Some will say we’re surrendering sovereignty or freedoms, but that is nonsense.

Read more:
Farage’s small boats plan is about putting Labour on the spot
How Farage’s latest ‘leave’ plan might impact you

“We are determined to plug the gaps, to rebuild Britain, protect our borders, bring down bills in every part of the country and secure good jobs, a new relationship of mutual benefit, one that brings freedom back to our businesses and exercises our sovereignty.

“And it needs pragmatism. When you’re tough, decisive and collaborative. That cannot rest on easy answers and snake oil. The Tories [are] completely 2D, stuck with a ghost of Brexit past. And then Nigel Farage, who has pledged to reverse our progress.”

A Reform UK spokesperson said: “No one has done more damage to British businesses than this Labour government.

“With 157,000 fewer people on payroll since Labour took office, their jobs tax is stifling success and hitting small and medium-sized businesses across the country.

“Cosying up to the EU and leaving us entangled in reams of retained EU law which Kemi Badenoch failed to scrap will not resuscitate Britain’s struggling economy.”

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England warned it faces six million new cancer cases by 2040 – with these areas worst hit

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England warned it faces six million new cancer cases by 2040 - with these areas worst hit

More than six million new cancer cases could be diagnosed in England between now and 2040, according to leading charities.

This would equate to a diagnosis every two minutes, which is up from one every four minutes in the 1970s.

A coalition of more than 60 cancer charities, known as One Cancer Voice, is warning the government must take urgent steps to tackle cancer care in England – including faster diagnosis targets and better prevention policies.

The analysis carried out by the charities is based largely on pre-pandemic data and suggests cases will increase by 14.2% over the next 15 years, with diagnoses of some of the most common cancers reaching all-time highs.

This includes over a million new prostate cancer diagnoses, and more than 900,000 for breast cancer by 2040.

The research also finds regional variations:

• South East – over a million diagnoses

• North East – 865,000

• East of England and the South West – 722,000

• London – 714,000

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Man loses voice box after late cancer diagnosis

Six key demands

These figures starkly set out the need for change, and the timing of their release is significant.

Later this autumn, the government is expected to publish its long-awaited National Cancer Plan.

These leading charities have combined forces to put pressure on ministers ahead of its publication, demanding six measures which they say must be implemented if cancer outcomes are to improve:

• A pledge to meet all cancer waiting times by the end of parliament in 2029

• A new earlier diagnosis target, with improved screening programmes

• The introduction of strong cancer prevention policies

• Addressing inequalities in patient care

• Improving access to clinical trials for cancer patients

• Better support for people to live well with and beyond cancer

‘A defining moment’

The pandemic had a huge impact on cancer care in the country, and an ageing population adds further pressures.

But the most recently available data, which is around a decade old, suggests the NHS is still lagging behind many comparable countries.

The chief executive of Cancer Research UK, Michelle Mitchell, described the national plan as a “defining moment”.

“If the UK government delivers an ambitious fully funded strategy, we could save more lives and transform cancer outcomes, propelling England from world lagging to among world leading when it comes to tackling this disease,” she said.

Read more:
Are we are entering ‘golden age’ of cancer treatment?

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “This government is prioritising cancer care as we turn around more than a decade of neglect of our NHS.

“We’re already making an impact, with 95,000 more people having cancer diagnosed or ruled out within 28 days between July 2024 and May 2025, compared to the same period the previous year.

“This will soon be supported by our new National Cancer Plan, setting out how cancer care will improve over the coming years.

“We’re also making it easier for people to get tests, checks, and scans with DIY screening kits for cervical cancer, new radiotherapy machines in every region, and by creating the first smoke-free generation.”

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Nigel Farage has a new ‘leave’ campaign – here’s how it could work and how it might impact you

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Nigel Farage has a new 'leave' campaign - here's how it could work and how it might impact you

Nigel Farage has said he would take the UK out of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) if Reform win the next election.

The party’s leader also reaffirmed his pledge to repeal the Human Rights Act and disapply three other international treaties acting as “roadblocks” to deporting anyone entering the UK illegally.

In a speech about tackling illegal migration, he said a Reform government would detain and deport any migrants arriving illegally, including women and children, and they would “never, ever be allowed to stay”.

Sky News looks at what the ECHR is, how the UK could leave, and what could happen to human rights protections if it does.

What is the ECHR?

On 4 November 1950, the 12 member states of the newly formed Council of Europe (different to the EU) signed the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms – otherwise known as the ECHR.

It came into force on 3 September 1953 and has since been signed by an additional 34 Council of Europe members who have joined, bringing the total to 46 signatories.

The treaty was drafted in the aftermath of the Second World War and the Holocaust to protect people from the most serious human rights violations. It was also in response to the growth of Stalinism in central and Eastern Europe to protect members from communist subversion.

The treaty was the first time fundamental human rights were guaranteed in law.

Sir Winston Churchill helped establish the Council of Europe and was a driving force behind the ECHR, which came from the Charter of Human Rights that he championed and was drafted by British lawyers.

Sir Winston Churchill was a driving force behind the ECHR
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Sir Winston Churchill was a driving force behind the ECHR

To be a signatory of the ECHR, a state has to be a member of the Council of Europe – and they must “respect pluralist democracy, the rule of law and human rights”.

There are 18 sections, including the most well-known: Article 1 (the right to life), Article 3 (prohibition of torture), Article 6 (right to a fair trial), Article 8 (right to private and family life) and Article 10 (right to freedom of expression).

The ECHR has been used to halt the deportation of migrants in 13 out of 29 UK cases since 1980.

ECHR protections are enforced in the UK through the Human Rights Act 1998, which incorporates most ECHR rights into domestic law. This means individuals can bring cases to UK courts to argue their ECHR rights have been violated, instead of having to take their case to the European Court of Human Rights.

Article 8 is the main section that has been used to stop illegal migrant deportations, but Article 3 has also been successfully used.

Read more:
Why Farage’s small boats plan is not actually about policy
Legal expert explains if Farage deportation plan would work

The ECHR is interpreted by judges at this court in Strasbourg, France. File pic: AP
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The ECHR is interpreted by judges at this court in Strasbourg, France. File pic: AP

How is it actually used?

The ECHR is interpreted by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) – you’ll have to bear with us on the confusingly similar acronyms.

The convention is interpreted under the “living instrument doctrine”, meaning it must be considered in the light of present-day conditions.

The number of full-time judges corresponds to the number of ECHR signatories, so there are currently 46 – each nominated by their state for a non-renewable nine-year term. But they are prohibited from having any institutional ties with the state they come from.

An individual, group of individuals, or one or more of the signatory states can lodge an application alleging one of the signatory states has breached their human rights. Anyone who have exhausted their human rights case in UK courts can apply to the ECtHR to have their case heard in Strasbourg.

All ECtHR hearings must be heard in public, unless there are exceptional circumstances to be heard in private, which happens most of the time following written pleadings.

The court may award damages, typically no more than £1,000 plus legal costs, but it lacks enforcement powers, so some states have ignored verdicts and continued practices judged to be human rights violations.

Read more: Asylum seekers in charts and numbers

Inside the European Court of Human Rights. File pic: AP
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Inside the European Court of Human Rights. File pic: AP

How could the UK leave?

A country can leave the convention by formally denouncing it, but it would likely have to also leave the Council of Europe as the two are dependent on each other.

At the international level, a state must formally notify the Council of Europe of its intention to withdraw with six months’ notice, when the UK would still have to implement any ECtHR rulings and abide by ECHR laws.

The UK government would have to seek parliament’s approval before notifying the ECtHR, and would have to repeal the Human Rights Act 1998 – which would also require parliamentary approval.

Would the UK leaving breach any other agreements?

Leaving the ECHR would breach the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, a deal between the British and Irish governments on how Northern Ireland should be governed, which could threaten the peace settlement.

It would also put the UK’s relationship with the EU under pressure as the Brexit deal commits both to the ECHR.

The EU has said if the UK leaves the ECHR it would terminate part of the agreement, halting the extradition of criminal suspects from the EU to face trial in the UK.

Keir Starmer has previously ruled out taking Britain out of the ECHR
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Keir Starmer has previously ruled out taking Britain out of the ECHR

How would the UK’s human rights protections change?

Certain rights under the ECHR are also recognised in British common law, but the ECHR has a more extensive protection of human rights.

For example, it was the ECHR that offered redress to victims of the Hillsborough disaster and the victims of “black cab rapist” John Worboys after state investigations failed.

Before cases were taken to the ECtHR and the Human Rights Act came into force, the common law did not prevent teachers from hitting children or protect gay people from being banned from serving in the armed forces.

Repealing the ECHR would also mean people in the UK would no longer be able to take their case to the ECtHR if the UK courts do not remedy a violation of their rights.

The UK’s human rights record would then not be subject to the same scrutiny as it is under the ECHR, where states review each other’s actions.

Two victims of John Worboys sued the Met Police for failing to effectively investigate his crimes using Article 3 of the ECHR. Pic: PA
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Two victims of John Worboys sued the Met Police for failing to effectively investigate his crimes using Article 3 of the ECHR. Pic: PA

How human rights in the UK would be impacted depends partly on what would replace the Human Rights Act.

Mr Farage has said he would introduce a British Bill of Rights, which would apply only to UK citizens and lawful British citizens.

He has said it would not mention “human rights” but would include “the freedom to do everything, unless there’s a law that says you can’t” – which is how common law works.

Legal commentator Joshua Rozenberg said this would simply confirm the rights to which people are already entitled, but would also remove rights enjoyed by people visiting the UK.

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