Chris Kaba: Officer charged with murder to be named

The Metropolitan Police firearms officer charged with murdering Chris Kaba will be named, the Old Bailey has decided.

Mr Kaba, 24, died after being shot in a police operation in Streatham, south London, last year.

A judge dismissed concerns about the "real and immediate risk" to the officer, named only as NX121, if his identity was made public.

The Met said the decision would be "hugely concerning" for officers.

At the Old Bailey, the Recorder of London Mark Lucraft KC decided the officer's name could be made public, along with his date of birth, from 30 January 2024.

The decision was made after media organisations including the BBC challenged the officer's legal application to protect his identity on the basis that confidence in the criminal justice system required cases to be held, wherever possible, in public.

The BBC does not currently know his identity.

The judge will continue to restrict publication of the address of the officer and any images or drawings of him.

In his ruling, the judge said he had viewed "raw underlying intelligence material" before coming to the conclusion there was not a "real and immediate risk" to the life of the defendant or to his family if he was named.

He recognised that releasing the officer's address, and an image of him "might give rise to such risks".

Judge Lucraft added that a three-month delay would also cater for "the imposition of any additional mitigating measures... by those responsible for dealing with NX121".

Following the decision to name the defendant, the Met's Assistant Commissioner Matt Twist said: "I recognise that for officers this decision will be hugely concerning, and that the impact of this and recent cases is felt right across armed policing and beyond.

"We take seriously the open justice principle, however it was important to make the court aware of the effect that loss of anonymity would have in this case."

Mr Twist added that shootings by armed Met officers were "very rare", and the role of an armed officer was "absolutely critical" in protecting the country from "severe and very real threats".

Chief Constable Simon Chesterman, National Police Chiefs' Council lead for armed policing, said the organisation would reflect upon the implications the decision had for policing.

The Met Police marksman was charged with murder on 20 September, with the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) choosing not to publicly name the officer, ahead of an application to keep him anonymous.

He appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court the following day, where District Judge Nina Tempia put an order in place banning publication of anything that would identify the officer, ahead of further legal hearings at the Old Bailey.

A plea and trial preparation hearing is due to take place on 1 December.

Mr Kaba was shot and killed in a car in Streatham Hill, south London, in September last year.

He was taken to hospital and died the following day, on 6 September.

Mr Kaba's family previously told the BBC they wanted the officer to face criminal charges.

Last month, hundreds of police officers in London turned in their weapons permits after officer NX121 was charged with murder.

The Met said many firearms officers were "worried" about how the charging decision "impacts on them".

Armed officers from other forces were deployed and soldiers were put on standby as a contingency measure.

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