LAST UPDATE | 25 Sep 2023

BRITAIN’S BIGGEST POLICE force has stood down a plan to use military back-up after enough firearms officers returned for it to cover counter-terrorism duties.

Dozens of Metropolitan Police officers stepped away from armed duties after one of their colleagues was charged with murder last week.

Cover was drafted in from neighbouring forces after the BBC reported that around 100 of the Met’s 2,595 marksmen were refusing to perform their armed roles.

The military also agreed to help, but soldiers do not have the authority to be used for routine policing and can only be used in the case of a counter-terrorism attack or for guarding certain locations such as nuclear sites.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: “On Saturday, the Ministry of Defence agreed to provide the Met with counter-terrorism support as a contingency option.

“As of lunchtime on Monday, the number of officers who had returned to armed duties was sufficient for us to no longer require external assistance to meet our counter-terrorism responsibilities.”

A Met Police officer appeared in court on Thursday in relation to the death of Chris Kaba, who died after being shot through an Audi car windscreen.

The officer accused of his murder is named only as NX121 after a district judge granted an anonymity order.

Since the charge was announced, more than 100 officers have reportedly handed in permits allowing them to carry weapons, prompting the Met to turn to the military for assistance.

Review

The force’s commissioner Mark Rowley welcomed a Home Office review following the charge, which Home Secretary Suella Braverman said she had ordered to ensure armed officers “have the confidence to do their job”.

The Scotland Yard chief said armed officers needed “sufficient legal protection to enable them to do their job”.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said it “wouldn’t be right” for him to comment on the case of the unnamed officer charged over the shooting of unarmed rapper Kaba (24) who was killed in September last year in Streatham Hill, south London.

But the Conservative Party leader said the guidance to firearms patrols needed to be reviewed to “make sure it is robust” and that it commands both public and police confidence.

Sunak, speaking to broadcasters during a visit to a community centre in Broxbourne, Hertfordshir today said: “Our firearms officers do an incredibly difficult job.

“They are making life or death decisions in a split second to keep us safe and they deserve our gratitude for their bravery.

“Now it is important when they are using these legal powers that they do so with clarity and they have certainty about what they are doing, especially given the lethality they are using.”

In an open letter to the Home Secretary published yesterday, Met boss Rowley suggested legal changes over the way self-defence is interpreted in police misconduct cases.

He also put forward the introduction of a criminal standard of proof for unlawful killing in inquests and inquiries, along with changes to the threshold at which the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) can launch an investigation.

Rowley said: “There is a concern on the part of firearms officers that even if they stick to the tactics and training they have been given, they will face years of protracted legal proceedings which impact on their personal wellbeing and that of their family.

“While previous reviews have been announced, they have not delivered change.

“Carrying a firearm is voluntary. We rely on officers who are willing to put themselves at risk on a daily basis to protect the public from dangerous criminals including terrorists.

“Officers need sufficient legal protection to enable them to do their job and keep the public safe, and the confidence that it will be applied consistently and without fear or favour.”

Rowley called for time limits for IOPC and Crown Prosecution Service processes to “reduce the punitive impact” on officers facing lengthy investigations.

He also suggested that more contextual information about incidents could be released “to ensure public confidence in policing”.

The Metropolitan Police Federation, the group which represents officers from the rank of constable to chief inspector in the Met, offered Rowley its support following the publication of his letter.

The federation said: “Colleagues should not fear for their liberty and livelihoods for simply doing the job the public expect of us.”

Ministers have looked to assure that the public will be kept safe after the armed forces were put on standby to assist the Met.

The force has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence has agreed to a request to provide it with counter-terrorism support “should it be needed” as a “contingency option” if an “appropriate policing response was not available”.

The Met said armed forces personnel will not be used in a “routine policing capacity” under the arrangement.

Housing minister Rachel Maclean told LBC: “They will be doing everything they can – these are trained professionals, and their job is to put themselves into harm’s way in the line of duty.”

She denied that armed officers were stepping away from protecting the public, telling Sky News their decision to hand back their firearms permits was likely to have been taken “reluctantly”.