Sky News

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

Martyn Blake, 40, fired a single bullet through the windscreen of the Audi Q8 the 24-year-old was driving as armed officers surrounded the car in Streatham, south London, while he tried to escape.

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.

The family of Mr Kaba sat in silence and made no immediate reaction.

An armed police officer claimed Chris Kaba used his car as a weapon in a bid "to escape at any cost" and that he shot him fearing "one or many of my colleagues could be killed," a court has heard.

Jurors were shown dramatic body-worn camera footage of the moment Martyn Blake, 40, fatally shot the 24-year-old as he was sat in the driver's seat of a dark Audi Q8 in Streatham, south London, on the night of 5 September 2022.

A police marksman may have been "angry, frustrated and annoyed" when he shot Chris Kaba dead after he tried to escape, a court has heard.

Martyn Blake, 40, is on trial at the Old Bailey, where he denies murdering the 24-year-old in Streatham, south London.

Mr Kaba was sitting in the driver's seat of a dark Audi with both hands on the steering wheel when he was shot once in the head on the night of 5 September 2022, a jury was told.

The police marksman charged with murdering Chris Kaba has been named for the first time after a judge lifted an anonymity order.

Metropolitan Police firearms officer Martyn Blake, 40, is facing trial later this year over the fatal shooting of the 24-year-old in Streatham Hill, south London, on 6 September 2022.

He was charged with murder in September last year, but has until now been known as NX121 because his identity was protected by an anonymity order.

Blake appeared in the dock at the Old Bailey today to plead not guilty to the charge.

PC Paul Fisher was cleared of dangerous driving after a trial at Southwark Crown Court.

The Police Federation has said it is "seriously concerned and bitterly disappointed" after a judge ruled a Metropolitan Police firearms officer charged with murder will be publicly named.

The officer, who had previously been known only as NX121, is facing trial at the Old Bailey over the shooting of 24-year-old Chris Kaba in Streatham Hill, south London, on 6 September 2022.

In a ruling at the Old Bailey, judge Mark Lucraft said the police officer will be named publicly on 30 January.

A Metropolitan Police officer has been charged with the murder of Chris Kaba, the Crown Prosecution Service has said.

Mr Kaba, 24, died the day after he was hit by a single gunshot fired by a police firearms officer in Streatham Hill on 5 September last year.

The car he was driving was followed through south London by an unmarked police car with no lights or sirens.

He then turned into Kirkstall Gardens, a narrow residential street, where there was a collision between the vehicle he was in and a marked police car that was waiting for him at the scene.

A 34-year-old man has died on train tracks in south London after a car chase with police officers.

The Metropolitan Police said the car failed to stop at 3.26am on Wednesday as it headed towards Streatham High Road.

"A vehicle pursuit was authorised and officers followed the car for a short time, indicating it should stop," said a Met statement.

The driver ran away after crashing in Brunswick Mews, Streatham, and police lost sight of him in nearby Potters Lane, the force said.