On Monday morning the Met issued another statement, which they posed on X, formerly known as Twitter, which sought to correct some media reports which suggested all Met firearms officers had quit.
The Met said: “A number of officers have taken the decision to step back from armed duties while they consider their position. We are in ongoing discussions with those officers to support them and to fully understand the genuinely held concerns that they have.”
Although it is understood the police currently have enough firearms officers to maintain counter-terrorism and armed guarding duties, the Met could be stretched to breaking point if there were a major incident.
A Met spokesman said: “The Ministry of Defence has agreed to a request to provide the Met with counter-terrorism support should it be needed. This is a contingency option that would only be used in specific circumstances and where an appropriate policing response was not available.”
Military Aid to the Civil Authorities request
The Ministry of Defence said, “We have accepted a Military Aid to the Civil Authorities request from the Home Office to provide routine counter-terrorism contingency support to the Metropolitan Police, should it be needed.”- You can always act in defence of yourself, your teammates and civilians.
- You can always return fire when fired upon.
- Do not engage the target of opportunity without permission if you are not in imminent danger.
The home secretary, Suella Braverman, said she had ordered a review to ensure armed officers “have the confidence to do their job.”
She said: “We depend on our brave firearms officers to protect us from the most dangerous and violent in society. In the interest of public safety they have to make split-second decisions under extraordinary pressures.”
“They mustn’t fear ending up in the dock for carrying out their duties. Officers risking their lives to keep us safe have my full backing and I will do everything in my power to support them,” said Ms. Braverman.
The commissioner of the Met, Sir Mark Rowley, has written to Ms. Braverman.
In the letter he 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.”
Sir Mark has also suggested legal changes over the way self-defence is interpreted in police misconduct cases, the introduction of a criminal standard of proof for unlawful killing in inquests and inquiries and changes to the threshold at which the Independent Office for Police Conduct can launch an investigation.
Mr. Kaba, 24, died after being shot through the windscreen of an Audi car in Streatham, south London in September 2022.
