Latest news with #MartynBlake
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
I would normally stand with our police, but they've made it almost impossible
Does your heart bleed for our poor put-upon police, as they warn that their service is in 'crisis'? Or hearing of their plight, do you feel like giving them a shake? In a slight variation on the annual moan-fest that is the Police Federation conference, senior representatives of the service have penned a joint article listing their many woes. With dismal absence of originality, they complain of 'crushed' morale and thinning blue lines, as underpaid, overworked officers jack it all for early retirement to the Costas. As the Spending Review looms, behold the usual desperate attempt to guilt trip ministers into ponying up more cash. Those of us who grew up with kindly constables coming to school to talk about 'stranger danger' and the Green Cross Code yearn for the heroes of our youth. They were the human barrier between good and evil, fighting the good fight against robbers and child snatchers. How we used to look up to them and take comfort from their solid, reassuring presence on our streets. Wouldn't it be nice to experience such pure, uncomplicated feelings of admiration about the police today? The trouble is they just keep letting us down, behaving in ways that are spineless and foolish, and going after all the wrong people in all wrong ways. Modern training appears to prohibit any exercise of discretion or common sense, in favour of moronic tick box responses and rainbow coloured cars. I am reminded of this every Friday morning, when swarms of officers descend on the Embankment in central London in search of the odd trucker who might not have the right paperwork. With the luxury of crime free streets and unlimited resources this dreary weekly exercise might be worthwhile, but as dope heads, muggers and petty thieves do their worst all around, it is a very curious priority. Of course there are still good guys who are horrified by the systematic misallocation of resources. They cringe at the pursuit of totally inconsequential 'hate crimes' and even more ridiculous 'non hate crime incidents'. Still valiantly trying to catch real criminals, they were appalled by the diminishment of their roles during the pandemic, when they were forced to police petty lockdown breaches. Old pros have no difficulty understanding that flimsy complaints about unpleasant Tweets rarely require a siren-wailing response, and that having black or brown skin should never provide an exemption from the law. Tragically, these stalwarts can no longer rely on either the support or sound judgement of their bosses, who have a nasty habit of punishing bravery and initiative. Just ask poor Stg Martyn Blake, who put his life on the line in pursuit of a man with previous convictions and gangland associations – and found himself charged with murder. Having been cleared by the courts, he now faces an investigation for 'gross misconduct.' Then there's PC Lorne Castle, sacked by Dorset Police for failing to treat a knife-wielding teenager with sufficient 'respect.' The way these decent officers and others are make split second decisions in life threatening situations are treated beggars belief. Then again, some plods deserve everything they get. Witness the grotesque cowardice of the officers who allegedly tasered a confused one-legged nonagenarian after he refused orders to put down a butter knife. In that single inexplicable act, these cruel clowns brought their entire profession into disrepute. Remember all this, as they beg the Government for bigger budgets. Sorry, but I'm struggling to find my violin. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Yahoo
It is time to end the ordeal of Sgt Blake
When the Metropolitan Police firearms officer Martyn Blake was found not guilty of murder last October we issued a plea that his acquittal should be the end of the matter. That turns out to have been a forlorn hope. Sgt Blake now faces disciplinary proceedings for gross misconduct following an investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC). It concluded that the fatal shooting of Chris Kaba in 2022 may have breached professional standards regarding the use of force and warranted further action. It was the IOPC that initially passed its findings to the Crown Prosecution Service, recommending a charge of murder. Yet the jury at the Old Bailey took just three hours to return its verdict, indicating this was a case that should not have been brought. Now the IOPC is having another go at Sgt Blake using a lower legal test than in a criminal trial: is there sufficient evidence upon which, on the balance of probabilities, a disciplinary panel could make a finding of misconduct? The IOPC says it is required by law to do this, but that is not true. Current guidance says that where the 'case to answer' test is met, there must be compelling reasons not to direct misconduct proceedings. Is there a more compelling reason than being found not guilty by the courts? This feels like a witch-hunt to justify the IOPC's original decision. Sgt Blake was reinstated in his post after the acquittal and now faces further uncertainty over his future. He was part of a unit manning a roadblock intended to stop Kaba who was driving a car believed to have been involved in a shooting outside a primary school the previous evening. The jury heard that Sgt Blake believed he or his colleagues were in danger and had a split second to make a judgment on whether to shoot. It accepted his account. That should have been the end of the matter. As Sir Mark Rowley, the Met Commissioner, said, episodes like this 'crush the spirit' of those called upon to protect the city, and make the streets more dangerous if it leads to fewer recruits. The system holding police to account is broken and this IOPC decision must be the last made citing current guidance. It needs to change and is being reviewed by the Home Office. In the meantime, the Met should reject the IOPC's call for a disciplinary hearing and leave Sgt Blake in post. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Sky News
30-04-2025
- Sky News
On a dawn police raid, the case of Chris Kaba's shooting still lingers over armed officers
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. 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. 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. '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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.
Telegraph
10-04-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
I have changed my mind: anti-white racism exists
I have long been reluctant to use the phrase 'anti-white racism'. It is a term I have worried might fuel a grievance narrative and foster resentment in an already crowded field of competitive victimhood. But as time passes, it is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore what looks like a growing pattern of institutional discrimination against white Britons. The recent case involving West Yorkshire Police is another example, following closely on the heels of the controversy surrounding the Sentencing Council's guidelines on pre-sentence reports, which many have rightly described as 'two-tier justice'. In this latest case, West Yorkshire Police have reportedly blocked white applicants from joining the force as part of a diversity recruitment scheme. What is especially disturbing is how this policy has embedded a formal hierarchy of racial preference within the police force. According to internal documents, black and far east Asian candidates were awarded 'gold' status, south east Asians were ranked 'silver', while 'white others', including those of Irish or eastern European descent, were pushed into the 'bronze' tier. This is not equality. It is a new kind of racial ranking, uncomfortably reminiscent of apartheid-era thinking, made socially acceptable only because those placed at the bottom are white. This is not an isolated incident either. Last year, an employment tribunal upheld claims from white officers in Thames Valley Police who were denied promotion or entry under policies that explicitly prioritised candidates from ethnic minority backgrounds. At a time when crime is rising and public trust in policing is under significant strain, we should be welcoming all capable individuals, regardless of race, to serve their communities. Competence and commitment should be the only criteria for suitability, not ethnicity. Some will argue, particularly those profiting from the booming 'Diversity, Equality and Inclusion' industry, that these initiatives are needed to correct historical under-representation. But this assumes that diversity necessarily improves policing outcomes. That assumption is, at best, unproven. Take the case of the now-disbanded Scorpion unit of the Memphis Police Department in the United States – a unit composed mostly of black officers, some of whom were involved in the horrific killing of Tyre Nichols, a black man. That tragedy only reinforces the point: representation alone does not guarantee justice, professionalism or public confidence. But why do disparities in application and promotion rates exist? I would argue that narratives pushed by organisations like the National Black Police Association – claiming the force is institutionally racist – have likely deterred many ethnic minority applicants. And dragging officers through questionable disciplinary processes, such as the case of police firearms officer Martyn Blake following the shooting of Chris Kaba, only serves to undermine trust on all sides. And seeing a force riddled with scandal hardly makes it attractive to join. In the name of fighting racism, we are instead fuelling it. Overtly discriminatory policies, however well-intentioned, hand the genuine far-Right an easy and increasingly valid argument: that white people are now being treated less favourably than other groups. Even more insidiously, these initiatives are often prejudiced against ethnic minority candidates themselves. By lowering intellectual or moral standards, institutions send the message that minority applicants cannot compete on merit. That is not equality: it is patronising and ultimately harmful. We face a fundamental choice. Either we uphold the principle that all individuals, regardless of race, have the capacity to serve with integrity and impartiality, or we continue to divide society by judging people on the basis of their racial group. If equality means anything, it must mean equal standards, equal opportunity, and equal treatment. Abandoning this conception of equality risks tearing apart the very fabric of public trust we are so desperate to restore.
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
I have changed my mind: anti-white racism exists
I have long been reluctant to use the phrase 'anti-white racism'. It is a term I have worried might fuel a grievance narrative and foster resentment in an already crowded field of competitive victimhood. But as time passes, it is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore what looks like a growing pattern of institutional discrimination against white Britons. The recent case involving West Yorkshire Police is another example, following closely on the heels of the controversy surrounding the Sentencing Council's guidelines on pre-sentence reports, which many have rightly described as 'two-tier justice'. In this latest case, West Yorkshire Police have reportedly blocked white applicants from joining the force as part of a diversity recruitment scheme. What is especially disturbing is how this policy has embedded a formal hierarchy of racial preference within the police force. According to internal documents, black and far east Asian candidates were awarded 'gold' status, south east Asians were ranked 'silver', while 'white others', including those of Irish or eastern European descent, were pushed into the 'bronze' tier. This is not equality. It is a new kind of racial ranking, uncomfortably reminiscent of apartheid-era thinking, made socially acceptable only because those placed at the bottom are white. This is not an isolated incident either. Last year, an employment tribunal upheld claims from white officers in Thames Valley Police who were denied promotion or entry under policies that explicitly prioritised candidates from ethnic minority backgrounds. At a time when crime is rising and public trust in policing is under significant strain, we should be welcoming all capable individuals, regardless of race, to serve their communities. Competence and commitment should be the only criteria for suitability, not ethnicity. Some will argue, particularly those profiting from the booming 'Diversity, Equality and Inclusion' industry, that these initiatives are needed to correct historical under-representation. But this assumes that diversity necessarily improves policing outcomes. That assumption is, at best, unproven. Take the case of the now-disbanded Scorpion unit of the Memphis Police Department in the United States – a unit composed mostly of black officers, some of whom were involved in the horrific killing of Tyre Nichols, a black man. That tragedy only reinforces the point: representation alone does not guarantee justice, professionalism or public confidence. But why do disparities in application and promotion rates exist? I would argue that narratives pushed by organisations like the National Black Police Association – claiming the force is institutionally racist – have likely deterred many ethnic minority applicants. And dragging officers through questionable disciplinary processes, such as the case of police firearms officer Martyn Blake following the shooting of Chris Kaba, only serves to undermine trust on all sides. And seeing a force riddled with scandal hardly makes it attractive to join. In the name of fighting racism, we are instead fuelling it. Overtly discriminatory policies, however well-intentioned, hand the genuine far-Right an easy and increasingly valid argument: that white people are now being treated less favourably than other groups. Even more insidiously, these initiatives are often prejudiced against ethnic minority candidates themselves. By lowering intellectual or moral standards, institutions send the message that minority applicants cannot compete on merit. That is not equality: it is patronising and ultimately harmful. We face a fundamental choice. Either we uphold the principle that all individuals, regardless of race, have the capacity to serve with integrity and impartiality, or we continue to divide society by judging people on the basis of their racial group. If equality means anything, it must mean equal standards, equal opportunity, and equal treatment. Abandoning this conception of equality risks tearing apart the very fabric of public trust we are so desperate to restore. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
