‘Significantly less’ firearms officers on duty after walk out, Met Chief says

Sir Mark Rowley told a policing board that depleted numbers of firearms officers would ‘create some difficult choices’

Sir Mark Rowley (Jordan Pettitt/PA) (PA Wire)

The capital has “significantly” less firearms officers on duty following a walkout by more than 100 staff over the weekend, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner has said.

Scores of officers stood down from firearms duties on Friday to “consider their position” after one of their colleagues was charged with murder over the death of 24-year-old Chris Kaba in south London.

Soldiers had been on standby to help the Met with counter terror policing, but officials said they were no longer needed on Monday after enough officers returned to duty.

At the first meeting of the London Policing Board on Tuesday, Sir Mark Rowley said: "Over the weekend, it had a very significant effect on our capability. We're now in a position where the numbers are strengthening.

"We can provide credible firearms cover for London, but I must be honest, it's still significantly less than normal which will create some difficult choices."

Addressing the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, and a panel of policing experts, Sir Mark said some officers were "extremely anxious", mainly driven by concerns from their families.

"Many of them are under pressure from their partners, wives, husbands, parents, children, who actually are saying 'I'm worried about what you might go through based on your job. I'm not sure we're up to this as a family given the severity of it and the longevity that it might go'," he said.

Out of around 4,000 armed operations run by the Met each year, one or two will see shots fired, he said.

He told the panel: “The issues in terms of public debate are not simply about firearms they are about wider handling of police use of force, pursuits and other sorts of cases like that.

“Everyone needs confidence in a system which is speedy, professional and operates absolutely without fear or favour and searches for the truth.”

Sir Mark added: "We must be held to account for use of force, it must be done in a way that is fair and transparent and builds trust in communities. It must also be done in a way that leaves officers confident to do the difficult jobs."

On Sunday he called for reform of the ways in which officers are held to account over operations involving firearms, in an open letter the home secretary, Suella Braverman.

In response Braverman ordered a review into armed policing, adding “we depend on our brave firearms officers to protect us”.

Former Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu, who used to be head of armed policing and is now a member of the London Policing Board, backed calls for a firearms review, adding that investigations following fatal police shootings must be sped up.

He told the Independent: “I have never once heard an armed police officer say to me that they weren’t willing to be held to account for the incredible job they do.

“I think what Mark Rowley is asking for is absolutely sensible – a review. I think that’s important because to me these are the most tragic incidents where there is a death, whether it’s a shooting.

“The first people that are affected are the families, the second are communities and the third people are the police officers. “The ripples and the effects on people’s lives go on for years and years. That cannot be right.

“I have investigated terrorist incidents, prosecuted terrorists and held inquiries in less time that it takes for us to investigate a single police officer. How is that fair on families, how is it fair on police officers, how is it fair on anybody. That’s got to change.”