Daniel Sandford
Reporting from Northampton Crown Court

Now a statement from Luke Ratana, Matt Ratana's son.

Luke says the two last had contact when he was 16, but his father's death has taken away any prospect of them meeting again.

He says the murder has "caused enormous trauma in my life".

He says it has made him question whether to continue his career as a police officer.

"I am immensely proud of him and I wish that we would have had a chance to meet again."

Daniel Sandford
Reporting from Northampton Crown Court

Next a statement prepared by Jessica Williams, a sister of Matt Ratana.

"Matiu was the big brother I looked up to always," the statement says (using Matt Ratana's full given name).

"I was so proud of him. I used to feel so cool telling people that my big brother was in the UK police force."

She describes how her brother taught her to say: "Innit you geezer."

Describing how she heard about the death, she says: "I cannot describe the feelings of shock and disbelief".

"The cruel and senseless actions of one man have left me and my family broken.

"In the midst of an epidemic the three of us watched Matiu's funeral on a TV screen.

"The impact of what this person has done has left me shattered... I feel like I could drown in the amount of grief I carry each day."

Daniel Sandford
Reporting from Northampton Crown Court

The next statement is from James William Young, Matt Ratana's brother. It is being read by Duncan Penny KC.

"We planned to do so much together," Young's statement says.

"On the 26th of September 2020, I received a phone call that destroyed me. I was never going to see my brother again.

"Hatred and anger, most of all pain and sorrow, is how I have been since then.

"The loss of my brother has been the hardest event in my life."

Daniel Sandford
Reporting from Northampton Crown Court

The court is now hearing a victim impact statement from Diane Peachy, Matt Ratana's step mother.

She says Matt Ratana was the first-born of Peter Ratana, and explains the genealogy of the family.

It is being read by one of the prosecution barristers, Jocelyn Ledward.

"Matt is a descendant of greatness," the statement says.

"A future with you in it has been robbed from us."

Image source, Julia Quenzler

As Daniel Sandford reported earlier, Louis De Zoysa is using a whiteboard to communicate in court today. The sketch above depicts him doing the same thing during a hearing last month.

After De Zoysa was wrestled to the ground by officers in the custody suite on 25 September 2020, he was struck in the neck by a bullet from his own gun.

This caused him to have a stroke. Surgeons removed a section of his skull to relieve pressure on his brain.

For months he was unable to walk or talk. Now, he mostly uses a wheelchair and can talk using single words or short phrases - as well as communicating via whiteboard.

Prosecutors said he was well enough to be charged with murder. His lawyers argued he was unfit to be tried, as he could no longer communicate properly - but the judge disagreed.

His lawyers also argued that he should be found guilty of manslaughter due to diminished responsibility, as he may have suffered a meltdown due to his autistic spectrum disorder that night.

The jury found him guilty of murder.

So far, the court has heard an application from a journalist for further video footage to be released, including video of the moment the fatal shot was fired.

Sgt Ratana's family opposed this. The application has been refused by the judge, allowing the full hearing to start.

Daniel Sandford
Reporting from Northampton Crown Court

Proceedings are under way at Northampton Crown Court, with murderer Louis De Zoysa wheeled in.

He is taken up a small temporary ramp into the reinforced glass dock - accompanied by two police officers in stab vests, two medical staff and a dock officer.

He is wearing a black shirt and a black suit jacket. His right arm is in a blue sling.

The judge is back in court and the "intermediary" Rory Seiser who helps Louis De Zoysa understand the court proceedings is now being sworn in.

"Are you Louis De Zoysa?" the clerk asks.

Louis De Zoysa indicates yes with his whiteboard.

Sgt Matt Ratana's partner Su Bushby is sitting at the back of the court

As our correspondent Daniel Sandford just mentioned, a statement from the murdered police officer's partner is expected to be read in court today.

After the conviction of Ratana's killer last month, Su Bushby said her love for her late partner would never end.

Speaking after the guilty verdict was delivered at Northampton Crown Court, Bushby said her “gentle giant” dedicated his life to doing a job he loved, but had “a cruel end to a lifetime of service and dedication protecting others”.

“The constant feeling of grief and loss continues,” Bushby said, adding that he will “never be forgotten”.

Daniel Sandford
Reporting from Northampton Crown Court

Image source, Met Police

Sgt Matt Ratana's partner Su Bushby will read her Victim Personal Statement to the court in person.

Five other statements from members of Sgt Ratana's family will be read by the prosecution.

Some members of the family are watching the sentencing hearing by video links from New Zealand and Australia.

Daniel Sandford
Reporting from Northampton Crown Court

Mr Justice Jeremy Johnson has an important decision to make today - whether to send Louis De Zoysa to prison for the rest of his life, with no prospect of release.

The sentence for murder is automatically life, but most murderers are given a “minimum term” of the number years that they will actually spend behind bars, after which the Parole Board can authorise their release “on licence”.

Since the law was changed in 2015, the starting point for the murder of a police officer is a “whole life order”, which means that the the murderer will never be released. But the judge can consider mitigating factors which could reduce that.

Louis De Zoysa’s solicitor advocate Imran Khan KC will be arguing that because of De Zoysa’s autistic spectrum disorder diagnosis, his age, and because of the brain damage he sustained during the shooting, he should be given a life sentence with a fixed minimum term, rather than a whole-life order.

De Zoysa will observe proceedings from his wheelchair in the dock. The court has accepted that his ability to understand the legal complexities of the case is limited by the brain damage he suffered from the stroke triggered when he shot himself in the neck.

Image source, Met Police

During the three-week trial, the jury was shown distressing video footage of the New Zealand-born sergeant being shot by De Zoysa, who was then 23. Ratana was shot fatally in the chest.

A second bullet struck him in his thigh before De Zoysa was wrestled to the ground by other officers.

A third round hit the cell wall at the custody centre. De Zoysa let off a fourth shot while on the floor, hitting an artery in his own neck and causing brain damage.

Let’s continue with the sequence of events that led to the death of Sgt Ratana.

• Once De Zoysa was in the custody suite in Croydon, Sgt Matt Ratana took control of the situation
• When he heard about the discovery of bullets, the experienced officer told De Zoysa he was “probably going to need a further search”
• In the CCTV footage of the incident, Ratana handed a metal detector to PC Davey and instructed: "Just wand him down but don't take the cuffs off" (a wand being a metal detector)
• De Zoysa became uncompliant, muttering to PCs Davey and Still: "Please leave, please leave"
• As PC Davey pulled him to his feet, De Zoysa brought his still-cuffed hands from behind his back and shot Sgt Ratana
• De Zoysa had hypermobility which gave him unusual flexibility in his joints, and, at some point during the journey to the custody centre, he was able to move the gun from the holster into his hands and keep it concealed behind his back

Image source, Met Police

This was the perhaps the central question of the case.

• Murderer De Zoysa was stopped just after 01:30 BST on 25 September 2020 in Norbury, South London, by PC Rich Davey and PC Samantha Still
• In a holster hidden under his left arm, he carried an antique Colt revolver - which was legal at the time because of the obsolete bullets it took. The gun was loaded with homemade ammunition, and he was carrying seven more rounds in a black pouch in his breast pocket
• Realising he was going to be searched by the police officers, De Zoysa told the officers he was carrying 3g of cannabis. He was handcuffed, and PC Davey found the bullets
• The two officers checked his bag, waistband and frisked his legs - but somehow they missed the gun in the holster under his arm
• They did not have a metal detector with them in the police car
• During the journey to a custody centre in Croydon in the back of a police van, De Zoysa is believed to have moved the gun from the holster to his hands, which were still cuffed behind his back
• There was no metal detector at the entrance to the custody area at the station

Image source, PA Media

Sgt Ratana joined London's Met Police in 1991, having moved to the UK from New Zealand two years prior.

A year later, he found himself just 300m from an IRA bomb that exploded outside 10 Downing Street.

Sgt Ratana was also a keen tennis player, earning the men’s doubles title at the Police Athletic Association championships in 2000.

He also led rugby teams in Worthing and was a coach at East Grinstead Rugby Club, where he has been remembered with a statue.

When he was fatally shot aged 54, Sgt Ratana was just months away from retirement age and was due to marry his partner Su Bushby, who he had been with for five years.

James FitzGerald
Live reporter

Image source, Met Police

Good morning – you join us for the sentencing of the man who murdered Met Police officer Sgt Matt Ratana.

Louis De Zoysa fatally shot Ratana, 54, in the chest on 25 September 2020 with an antique gun he’d smuggled into a custody centre in Croydon, South London.

He discharged the weapon despite being handcuffed. Sgt Ratana was a keen sportsman just months away from retirement age.

De Zoysa claimed diminished responsibility – but a jury ruled that he acted deliberately.

He’s listed to appear before Mr Justice Johnson at Northampton Crown Court at 10:00 this morning.

Televised sentencing remarks are a relatively new thing in England and Wales, and you’ll be able to stream them live at the top of this page.

Our correspondent Daniel Sandford will be following events in court - and my colleagues and I are coordinating coverage in the London newsroom.