Jeremy Corbyn, Sadiq Khan and Diane Abbott have been urged to apologise after slamming the police over the shooting of criminal gang member Chris Kaba.
Reporting restrictions about the 24-year-old’s violent past were dramatically lifted this week after firearms officer Martyn Blake was found not guilty of his murder.
But in the days and weeks that followed Mr Kaba’s death in September 2022, several prominent Labour politicians called for ‘justice’ after he was gunned down and killed while trying to flee officers during a police stop in Streatham, South London.
Now the rapper’s extraordinary history of violence has been revealed – including his involvement in shooting at nightclub in Hackney, East London just six days before his death – the politicians have been urged to apologise for their comments.
Lord Stevens, the former Met Police commissioner, said some politicians were too quick to slam the force and compare Mr Kaba’s death to that of George Floyd, the unarmed black man killed by a white police officer in Minneapolis in 2020.
Chris Kaba was shot through the windscreen of a car in South London on September 5, 2022
Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn called for ‘justice’ after Chris Kaba’s death in 2022
Labour MP Diane Abbott also called for justice after Mr Kaba was shot dead by a firearms officer
Conservative leadership candidate Robert Jenrick criticised some politicians for ‘jumping’ on the shooting ‘to justify their pre-existing prejudices’.
After Mr Kaba’s death, former Labour leader Mr Corbyn tweeted: ‘No family should have to go through the pain Chris Kaba’s family have suffered following his killing last week. My thoughts are with them as they fight for justice and accountability for his death.’
Five days later, he added: ‘We cannot live the pain felt by his family, but we can support them in demanding #JusticeForChrisKaba.’
Diane Abbott, Labour MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington was also quick to point the finger of blame, writing: ‘As the terrible fate of Chris Kaba shows, people can lose their lives even when going about their daily lives. Defending all our fundamental human rights is crucial under this dangerous, repressive government.
‘The mainstream media have an unfortunate habit of erasing inconvenient truths when they have decided what ”the story” is, and it is amazing how often it happens to black people.’
Chris Kaba is seen sat inside an Audi Q8 in Streatham, South London, on September 5, 2022
The police bodycam footage from multiple angles shows chaotic scenes as Mr Kaba was shot
Mr Kaba’s vehicle was hemmed in by marked and unmarked police cars during the incident
A shot is heard in the video before someone shouts ‘right we’ve got shots fired, shots fired’
The footage shows armed officers running towards Mr Kaba’s car which was hemmed in
It comes as Scotland Yard hailed policing reforms announced by the Government as progress towards a ‘fairer and faster’ system after the Home Secretary said accused firearms officers will remain anonymous unless they are convicted.
Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said the changes represented a ‘welcome step forward’ after Yvette Cooper unveiled a string of measures in the wake of the Chris Kaba case.
‘These measures represent positive progress toward a system that is both fairer and faster, supporting the vast majority of officers who serve with integrity every day,’ he said.
‘The importance of these changes couldn’t have been demonstrated more clearly than by the acquittal of our firearms officer Sergeant Martyn Blake.
‘Accountability of the law is critical, but the current system is protracted and unbalanced and fails to secure the confidence of the public and officers.
A grab from footage issued by the CPS of the initial follow of the Audi driven by Chris Kaba
‘Over many years this has created a culture where our officers are increasingly more worried about a skewed, imbalanced system than they are the dangerous criminals they face on the streets. If this continues, this risks making the public less safe.’
Earlier, Ms Cooper told MPs a review of how police who take fatal shots in the line of duty are held to account found the system was ‘not commanding the confidence of either the public or the police’ amid wider concerns about disciplinary proceedings.
The move comes days after marksman Mr Blake was cleared of Chris Kaba’s murder.
The 24-year-old was unarmed when Mr Blake shot him through the windscreen of an Audi Q8 as he tried to ram his way past police cars in Lambeth, south London, in 2022.
When reporting restrictions were lifted after the case concluded, it emerged Kaba was a ‘core member’ of one of London’s most dangerous criminal gangs and was allegedly directly linked to two shootings in the six days before he was shot dead by police.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) is reviewing whether Mr Blake should still face disciplinary proceedings.
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The 40-year-old is reportedly living in hiding, fearing for his life and his family after a £10,000 bounty was offered in revenge for Kaba’s death to anyone prepared to kill him.
Ms Cooper said the case happened ‘against a backdrop of wider and long-standing concerns about accountability, standards and confidence’ and amid ‘fallen community confidence in policing and the criminal justice system across the country’, particularly among black communities.
Speaking in the Commons on Wednesday, Ms Cooper said: ‘The accountability review found that the current system for holding police officers to account is not commanding the confidence of either the public or the police.
‘Accountability and misconduct proceedings are too often plagued by delays stretching for years, which are damaging for complainants, officers and forces alike, and the system has become much more complex, with confusion over multiple thresholds for different investigations, a lack of clarity, especially involving specialist capabilities.
‘There are also wider concerns about the misconduct system, because the focus when things go wrong can end up being entirely on the decisions of the individual officer.
Just six days before his death, Mr Kaba (in blue) brazenly gunned down a rival in the middle of a crowded nightclub during a bloody feud for control of a profitable county lines drug network
Grabs from footage of Mr Kaba (marked in blue) who opened fire with a gun (circled in pink) inside a nightclub in East London six days before his death
Kaba started blasting at Brandon Malutshi, chasing him outside the Oval Space Club in Hackney, with one of the bullets hitting him in the leg
Had he not been killed, Mr Kaba would have stood trial at the Old Bailey for the attempted murder of Mr Malutshi who miraculously survived the nightclub shooting on August 30, 2022
Grabs from footage of Mr Kaba (marked in blue) who opened fire with a gun inside a nightclub
The video was released as Mr Kaba was revealed to have been a core member of one of London’s most dangerous gangs
‘So systems failings like poor training, unmanageable caseloads or wider false practices are not sufficiently considered or followed up so too little changes.’
As well as introducing a ‘presumption of anonymity for firearms officers subject to criminal trial following a police shooting in the course of their professional duties, up to the point of conviction’, Ms Cooper vowed to raise the threshold for officers facing court so it matches the measure the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) uses for making charging decisions about members of the public.
This would mean charges would be brought only when there is a reasonable prospect of conviction, instead of if there is an indication of criminality using limited evidence.
‘Currently, that threshold is lower for police officers, and that is not justified,’ she said.
Bereaved families will also be given the right to appeal when the IOPC decides not to seek a charge against an officer.
The review began under the previous Conservative government when then home secretary Suella Braverman pledged to review the ways that firearms officers who take fatal shots are held accountable, with the work continuing after Labour won the general election.
Sir Mark is among those who previously branded the current accountability system as ‘broken’ and raised concerns it might lead to a loss of morale among firearms officers, at a time when there are significant gaps in staffing across the country.
Prosecutors and the police watchdog defended the decision to take Mr Blake to court after the verdict, with the CPS saying it was ‘right that the case was put before the jury for them to scrutinise and to decide.’
The Director of Public Prosecutions Stephen Parkinson has since been asked to review the CPS guidance on charging police officers for offences committed while they are on duty, Ms Cooper said.
Mr Parkinson welcomed the request as he confirmed the work would be carried out, adding: ‘Criminal prosecutions brought against police officers for actions taken in the course of their duties are extremely rare and these decisions are only made after careful consideration of all the relevant evidence and circumstances.
‘It is crucial that police officers are able to use their powers with legal certainty and clarity, always balanced with the public’s need to see the highest levels of scrutiny and accountability.’
Meanwhile, the College of Policing has been tasked with working lessons learned from ‘deaths or serious injuries arising from police contact or police pursuits’ into officer training.
The body’s boss, Chief Constable Sir Andy Marsh, said: ‘No one, including officers who carry firearms, can be above the law and it is right for communities to expect a high level of accountability.
‘However, as recognised by the Home Secretary today, any system of accountability must also give officers the confidence to act in accordance with their training and to not be penalised as a result.’
Shadow home secretary James Cleverly said he ‘agreed with almost all’ of the proposals put forward by the Government but argued firearms officers should be able to use their training as part of their defence in criminal proceedings.
Ms Abbott told the Commons ‘nothing could be more damaging for police community relations, than if the idea took hold that in some way the police were above the law’ as she questioned Ms Cooper about the measures.
Conservative MP Sir Julian Lewis said it was ‘concerning’ to hear the Met had closed a probe into the ‘hit’ taken out against Mr Blake but the Home Secretary said she was unable to comment.
Ms Cooper would not be drawn on if she had faith in the IOPC and the CPS, instead pointing to the review.
