Chris Kaba trial a farce - ex-Met firearms officer

In 2015 Tony Long was cleared of murder, 10 years after the killing of suspected armed robber Azelle Rodney

A former Met Police marksman, who was cleared of the murder of a suspected armed robber, has said the case against Martyn Blake was "a farce from start to finish".

Mr Blake, 40, shot Chris Kaba in the forehead during a police vehicle stop in Streatham, south London, in September 2022.

The officer, who was cleared of murder earlier this week, told the Old Bailey how he feared one of his colleagues might be killed by 24-year-old Mr Kaba, who had been boxed in by police cars and was trying to ram his way free.

Former Met officer Tony Long – who was found not guilty in 2015 of the murder of Azelle Rodney – said: "I was frustrated and annoyed like most serving police officers about the circumstances."

'This stuff doesn't go away'

He told BBC London: "From the body-worn footage, it explains in a second the kind of threat that Martyn Blake and his colleagues were under.

"Everyone they asked said... Martyn is not the sort of person who would panic or be angry in this scenario.

"Most people who had anything to do with the case – including the jurors who came back so quickly – evidently were thinking, as soon as they saw the the video at the beginning... ‘why are we here?’ So I don't think it (the trial) should have ever taken place."

Chris Kaba was identified as the gunman in a nightclub shooting at the conclusion of Mr Blake's trial

Mr Long shot Azelle Rodney, 24, in north London, in April 2005 during an operation to foil a robbery.

Speaking about the impact of the criminal case against him that followed, he said: "My life changed beyond recognition when I was named and when I had to give evidence in court.

"Even recently I walked into a pub and someone recognised me, reminding me that I killed his best friend.

"This stuff doesn't go away. Fortunately, Mr Blake wasn’t photographed and he is only known by name."

'He wasn’t a good person'

On Wednesday, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced reforms to give anonymity to firearms officers facing trial over the shooting of a suspect, unless they are convicted.

Mr Long said he thought it was the “correct decision”.

"The home secretary's proposal doesn't have any real repercussions; there's no real reason for the jury to know his name or for the public to know, until such time as he's found guilty.

"If we, as a society, expect people to run into danger to protect us with guns, it sounds foolish and unfair to prosecute them and name them in the aftermath (of a charge)."

When asked about how black people might feel about the shooting of Mr Kaba, Mr Long said: "I think the large majority of the black community feel the same as the white community: they've read what Chris Kaba was; the veil is up and they know that he wasn’t a good person.

"We talk about terrorism – no-one is concerned if police shoot terrorists – but really I think the black community may feel very unsafe, more unsafe than other communities, because of things like knife crime and gun crime in their community.

"They suffer disproportionately from the likes of Chris Kaba."