'He'll look over his shoulder for the rest of his life': Concern for Martyn Blake's privacy long overdue

23 October 2024, 08:58 | Updated: 23 October 2024, 10:20

A police officer, who was doing his job, potentially saving the lives of colleagues, as a two-and-a-half ton car was being driven as hard as it could be at them, is identified and put on trial for murder and now has a £10,000 bounty on his head from gangsters.

Meanwhile, the man, of course, who was in the car at the time, a gangster, a criminal from the age of 13, was given protection there. He was allowed to have this case brought forward in the first place.

No one is saying for one moment that he deserved to die. Chris Kaba did not deserve to die. He deserved to be brought to justice.

He was wanted in connection with two killings, one very soon prior to the incident where he was shot dead in Streatham. But who is running the justice system? Kenny Noye?

You have a copper doing his job who's now identified for the rest of his life. That man will look over his shoulder for the rest of his life.

And now you have a judge ruling that his identity and photographs must be protected.

Well, with the greatest of respect, your worships and your honour, why did you ever let him be identified in the first place? Why didn't he go to trial as NX121? Why did he go to trial as Sergeant Martyn Blake?

Why on earth was Kaba's family allowed to ensure that the details of his criminal past were never made public?

We now learn that an assistant commissioner of the Met wrote to the judge saying there was a real potential for civil unrest if the details of Kaba's background were not made known.

Because it could have been used by people to try and mobilize a degree of unrest towards the police, and we could have had real violence on the streets.

Now, and I say for the second time, Mr Kaba did not deserve to die in those circumstances. He did deserve to go to court and be faced with prosecution and possible conviction. There is no question about that.

Now you have the justice system: "Oh god, don't let any pictures out! No details of the man's address, family background, or whatever. You're mad!

He should have stood trial as NX 121. I said at the time that it was a very bad day for justice when Blake was named.

And now they're peddling back: "Oh don't no pictures."

What fools. The law really is an ass.

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