Granting anonymity to all police marksmen will create a “two-tier” system among all other professions in Britain, a criminal defence lawyer has warned.
Following the trial of police marksman Sergeant Martyn Blake, where he was acquitted for the murder of 24-year-old gang member Chris Kaba, questions have been raised as to why Blake was publicly named before a verdict had been reached.
Responding to the criticism, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has launched a fresh probe into the accountability and protections of firearms officers within the force.
Addressing MPs in the Commons today, Cooper told MPs: “When officers act in the most dangerous situations on behalf of the state, it is vital that those officers and their families are not put in further danger during any subsequent legal proceedings.
Paul Britton fears that granting anonymity for firearms officers creates a ‘two-tier system’
GB News / PA
“We also have to know that the police have the confidence to take sometimes the most difficult decisions of all in order to keep the rest of us safe.”
Speaking to GB News, criminal defence lawyer Paul Britton claimed that the move by the Labour Government could create a “two-tier system” among other professions, and their right to anonymity.
Britton explained: “I think there is a risk. If we start giving certain people in certain professions anonymity and the public don’t know who they are, you start to create or lean towards a two tier system.
“Why should people from certain professions be granted that privilege, yet others get caught up in the criminal justice system?”
PA
In disagreement with Britton, host Nigel Farage argued that a “fraudster is slightly less likely to be chased by a gangster mob” than somebody in Blake’s situation.
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Britton offered his counter-argument, explaining: “A murderer from any walk of life could be working in a supermarket, at a train station, in a law firm, wherever. Why should we pick who who benefits? It is a privilege to remain anonymous.
“What’s so important and what many criticise when things are done in secrecy, is that there is no transparency. And we must ensure that there is transparency and the public have a right to see the proceedings.”
Understanding that there are “deep complexities” within the justice system, Farage detailed the outcome of Blake being named, and now there is now a “bounty on his head”, with his family being “forced into hiding” out of fear of a criminal gang.
The Reform UK leader fumed: “Everything his KC promised would happen has happened – his kids have been removed from school, his family is living in hiding, there’s a bounty on his head. It’s not pretty.
Paul Britton claims that the Crown Prosecution Service is a ‘good body’
GB News
“When it comes to the Crown Prosecution Service, they showed in their statement after the verdict yesterday no contrition of any kind at all. No sympathy for the police officer or what he’d been through.”
After being asked if he believes the CPS are “fit for service”, Britton told GB News: “The Crown Prosecution Service is a good body.
“The thing about murder is that they are saying there was an intention to take life, so there was a mental element. When that officer fired those shots, he fired them with the intention to kill the person in the car.
“Whereas if it was a manslaughter charge, then the charge would be that, yes, he fired the shots, but his intention wasn’t to kill someone, take their life. It may be to immobilise them or damage them in such a way that they can’t fire back or cause the officer harm or injury.”
