Met chief Sir Mark Rowley delivers thinly-veiled rebuke to Sadiq Khan and other figures over Chris Kaba remarks
8 November 2024, 08:19 | Updated: 8 November 2024, 10:34
Sir Mark Rowley has accused high-profile figures of risking undermining the British justice system over comments they made about Chris Kaba.
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Met police chief Sir Mark said people with ‘huge influence’ had made unhelpful comments about the case in a thinly veiled rebuke aimed at Sadiq Khan.
Sir Mark said that an ‘honest conversation’ needed to be had over criminals like Kaba who was shot dead by a police marksman in 2022.
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The marksman Sergeant Martin Blake was cleared by a jury in three hours, and later had a bounty put on him by Kaba’s notorious Brixton Hill-based 67 gang.
He is now said to be in hiding fearing for his life and family.
Read more: Chris Kaba was 'core member' of one of London's most dangerous gangs
Two years ago, London Mayor Sadiq Khan described Kaba as a ‘young life cut short’ and that he understood “the grave concerns and impact of Chris’s death on black Londoners across our city and the anger, pain and fear it has caused – as well as the desire for justice and change”.
After the court verdict last month Mr Khan sent ‘heartfelt sympathies’ to Kaba’s family and friends.
Jeremy Corbyn and Diane Abbott called for ‘justice’ and Bell Ribeiro-Addy, Labour’s MP for Clapham and Brixton Hill, supported Kaba’s parents.
Sir Mark made comments at the annual Crimestoppers dinner in Westminster.
He said: “I think some people need to be aware of the weight of their words and how their attitudes and actions can embolden those who work against the public.
“Take the recent trial of Sergeant Martyn Blake for the shooting of Chris Kaba.
“From the outset over the last two years, the majority of the conversation online focused entirely on Chris Kaba’s ethnicity.
“Rumour and innuendo fuelled a quite dangerous narrative about supposed facts that were detached from the evidence presented to court and the verdict delivered by 12 Londoners recently.
“I go as far as to say that some people with huge influence risk undermining the British justice system, and those people should know better.
“And that’s not to say that there isn’t a national conversation to be had about disproportionately in the justice system and some of the challenges faced by communities.”
He said there needed to be more honesty about young black men being drawn into crime by gangs.
The 67 gang was behind 11 shootings in the past year, has 95 core members and is involved in the exploitation of children in south London, Sir Mark added.
A spokesperson for the Mayor of London said: “The Mayor has consistently shown his support for firearms officers and has commended them for working under the most extraordinary pressure, carrying with them unique responsibilities and often putting themselves in harm’s way to protect others.
“When anyone loses their life following contact with the police, it's right that it’s properly and thoroughly investigated, which is what’s happened in this case.”
