The Independent

New rules giving anonymity to firearms officers accused of murder put police above the scrutiny faced by the rest of the public, the head of the charity Inquest has warned.

The legal change, being put before Parliament this week, was first announced in the autumn after Metropolitan Police officer Martyn Blake was cleared of the murder of Chris Kaba.

Mr Kaba was fatally shot in Streatham, south-east London, in September 2022 after trying to ram his way past police cars that had blocked him in.

An avid runner will attempt to break the record for the fastest person to run the London Marathon dressed as a traffic cone.

Michael Wiggins, 47, from Streatham, south-west London, will run his 18th London Marathon since 1999 and his first in a traffic cone costume as he attempts to break the Guinness World Record (GWR).

Mr Wiggins, who works in advertising and post-production, wants to complete the run in three hours and 15 minutes to beat the previous record of three hours and 22 minutes, all while raising money for Prostate Cancer UK.

Genuine asylum seekers could be criminalised as a result of the Government’s proposals to tackle people-smuggling gangs, a Labour MP has said, as she called for a holistic approach.

People who are fleeing war or who are trafficked to the UK could have their rights abolished under the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill, Bell Ribeiro-Addy told the Commons.

During the second reading of the Bill, she said: “The Bill clearly aims to prioritise border security, but the malign Greek chorus which chant ‘stop the boats’ to every problem in our society is wrong.

When I joined the Metropolitan Police in the early 1990s, arresting shoplifters was my bread and butter. It was how I learned to do my job. In fact, in those early years, I probably made more arrests for shoplifting than I did for any other crime.

Rapidly-growing chicken chain Wingstop has said it plans to open at least 20 new sites in the UK this year, creating hundreds of jobs.

The ambitious expansion plans come a month after Wingstop’s UK arm was taken over by a US private equity firm, for more than £400 million.

Wingstop UK said that at least 10 new locations will open in the first half of the year.

These will include dine-in restaurants in Swansea, Newcastle, Lakeside shopping centre in Essex, Streatham in south London and Cardigan Fields in Leeds.

Police shooting victim Chris Kaba was a “core member” of one of London’s most dangerous gangs and would have stood trial for attempted murder over a nightclub shooting if he had not been killed, it can be now reported.

Metropolitan Police marksman Martyn Blake was on Monday acquitted of murdering the 24-year-old who tried to ram his way out of a police stop in Streatham, southwest London, on 5 September, 2022.

It can now be revealed that Kaba shot a man twice in the legs in an attack linked to gang rivalry just six days earlier.

The police marksman who fatally shot Chris Kaba has been cleared of his murder.

Martyn Blake, 40, stood trial at the Old Bailey after shooting the 24-year-old through the front windscreen of an Audi Q8 in Streatham, south-east London, on September 5 2022.

The jury deliberated for some three hours on Monday to clear Mr Blake who appeared to be briefly overcome with emotion as the verdict was returned.

He breathed out, puffed his cheeks and turned away in an apparent show of relief.

A Metropolitan Police marksman has been acquitted of murdering unarmed driver Chris Kaba in a police shooting.

Jurors took almost three hours to find Martyn Blake, 40, not guilty of murder in a unanimous verdict following a three-week trial at London’s Old Bailey.

The firearms officer shot the 24-year-old in the forehead through the windscreen of an Audi Q8 in Streatham, south London, during a police stop on 5 September 2022.

Jurors in the trial of a police marksman accused of the murder of Chris Kaba have retired to consider their verdicts.

Metropolitan Police firearms officer Martyn Blake, 40, fatally shot the 24-year-old through the windscreen of an Audi Q8 in Streatham, south London, on September 5 2022.

Hemmed in by marked and unmarked police cars, Mr Kaba drove the Audi backwards and forwards in an attempt to escape, the Old Bailey has heard.

Police bodycam footage shows the moments before Chris Kaba was fatally shot by a Met firearms officer.

Police watchdog the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) has released footage of the traffic stop on 5 September 2022, which lead to Mr Kaba being shot.

The footage was released as the police marksman who fatally shot Kaba was today (21 October) cleared of his murder.

Martyn Blake, 40, stood trial at the Old Bailey after shooting the 24-year-old through the front windscreen of an Audi Q8 in Streatham in south-east London.