Chris Kaba: Top Scottish police officers blast 'politically motivated show trial' of Sgt Martyn Blake

The man who represents the senior operational leaders within Police Scotland has launched a blistering attack on prosecutors in England over the trial of Met Police Sgt Martyn Blake.

Rob Hay, President of the Association of Scottish Police Superintendents, said the decision to charge the firearms officer with the murder of London gangster Chris Kaba represented a "cowardice of leadership... [that] must be addressed and never be allowed to happen again".

Sgt Blake was acquitted in just three hours last week, with the jury only then being told of Kaba's long history of violence as a leading figure in one of the most notorious gangs in the capital. Despite the verdict, he has been forced to go into hiding with his family for fear of reprisals.

Mr Hay said the "ramifications of the prosecution and outcome are being felt UK-wide" and took aim at the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and the Independent Office for Police Conduct south of the Border for their shocking decision making in the case.

He described Sgt Blake's case as a "politically-motivated show-trial" and said: "I represent the senior operational leaders in policing in Scotland, including those who command armed policing operations and lead the authorised firearms officers who volunteer to respond to the most critical and dynamic incidents that threaten the public’s safety.

"I know my members – and officers across the country – have been following the trial with professional interest and more than a little anxiety and concern. It is abundantly clear that justice has been done by the jury delivering a not guilty verdict. But the question remains how on earth did the CPS arrive at the view that there was sufficient evidence to try Sgt Blake with murder in the first place?"

After the trial, it was revealed that drill rapper Kaba, 24, had been identified as the gunman in a nightclub shooting days before he died. And the Audi he was driving when he was stopped by specialist firearms officers had been used as a getaway car in another shooting in Brixton, south London, the night before.

Mr Hay added: "Body cam footage of the incident clearly illustrates the jeopardy the officers' faced, performing the stop on the vehicle. An Audi Q8 is a performance vehicle, with a kerb-side weight of over 2,100kg and could travel at over 25mph while accelerating hard in first gear.

"The impact on a human body of being struck by such a vehicle in these circumstances would be catastrophic and likely fatal. It is just over six years since PC Andrew Harper of Thames Valley Police was dragged to his death by a driver fleeing justice. And there have been many similar incidents where police officers have been deliberately and seriously harmed by drivers who refuse to comply with lawful instructions and use their vehicle as a lethal weapon."

He said Sgt Blake was "acting in an honestly held belief of a lethal risk to the lives of his colleagues, reacted exactly as he had been trained to, in a manner that was necessary and proportionate in the dynamic circumstances".

And he blamed "a craven cowardice of leadership" for the decision to press ahead with the prosecution, adding that the CPS and the IOPC were more concerned about the impact on their "corporate reputation" than ensuring justice was done.

Mr Hay said: "If decisions about prosecutions are decided, not on the weight of evidence, but on the extant nature of community relations at any given time, this should worry us all. That's not how the law is supposed to work. Such decisions should be taken 'without fear or favour'."

Kaba was an ongoing, grave risk to the public

He concluded: "As we found out after the trial, Chris Kaba was a violent and dangerous man, who posed an ongoing risk to the public. Somehow a narrative has been allowed to take root that police officers are in some way more of a threat to the community than the criminals who terrorise and target children to join organised gangs. This must also stop.

"Kaba's death is inherently tragic, but the fact remains that Kaba was an ongoing, grave risk to the public, not just from his own violent actions, but in the propensity of such gang-type offending to draw others in, perpetuating a cycle of misery and violence.

"The same commentators – and some politicians - who decry policing for not effectively tackling this offending, offer nothing but a wall of silence when men like Kaba bring violence and tragedy to their neighbourhoods. What of Martyn Blake and the men and women like him, who volunteer for a difficult and dangerous job?

"Our authorised firearms officers are amongst the most highly trained in the world with rigorous selection, training, re-training and ongoing assessments. They are absolutely necessary to protect the public and critical national assets.

"They are now left questioning if volunteering to carry a firearm is worth it, if the stress upon them, their families, the threats to their lives and a broader lack of appreciation and support from the public are too great a burden. This should worry us all. Those volunteers do not deserve politically-motivated show-trials; they do deserve our deep gratitude."