The Metropolitan Police is bracing for a likely backlash from firearms officers after the armed officer accused of murdering London man Chris Kaba was named in court.
Martyn Blake, a 40-year-old officer with the Met’s Firearms Command was named by an Old Bailey judge, after his anonymity order was lifted.
The officer is accused of murdering Mr Kaba, after the 24-year-old was shot once in the head, as police stopped the vehicle he was driving in Streatham, south London, in September 2022.
The officer was initially only identified as NX121, after a magistrate granted him anonymity when he was charged with murder in September last year.
Chris Kaba was killed in September 2022Family handout/GettyThe Recorder of London Mark Lucraft KC ruled that naming him posed no real or immediate risk to his life or that of his family.
The anonymity order was challenged by members of the media on the grounds of open justice, as all those charged with a crime are ordinarily named in court.
The decision to charge Martyn Blake with murder last September sparked a furious backlash from armed colleagues across the Capital.
Hundreds of firearms officers stepped-back from armed duties in protest, and the Met was forced to call in mutual aid from other forces for a time.
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The Met is bracing for more likely backlash
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There is mounting anger among many officers, who fear they are not being properly backed as they face split-second decisions on the streets of the Capital.
Any move by armed officers to again step back from firearms duties will plunge the force into crisis, as it grapples with high levels of violent crime across London.
The officer’s home address or any image or description of him cannot be published under the order made by the Old Bailey today.
Members of Mr Kaba’s family were in court as the officer was publicly named for the first time.
There is mounting anger among many officers, who fear they are not being properly backed
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Appearing in the dock, Blake spoke to confirm his name and date of birth, and entered a not guilty plea to the charge of murder.
He is due to face trial on October 2.
On the day of the shooting, Mr Kaba was driving an Audi that did not belong to him, and turned into Kirstall Gardens in Streatham where he collided with a marked police car, before he was shot.
It later emerged the Audi was linked to a firearms incident the previous day.
