Police officer who shot Chris Kaba denies murder as he is named for first time

Martyn Blake, 40, was publicly named following a hearing at the Old Bailey on Friday.

Chris Kaba, 24, was shot in south London in September 2022 (Inquest/PA) (PA Media)

The Metropolitan Police marksman who shot dead Chris Kaba has denied murder as he was named publicly for the first time.

Martyn Blake, 40, appeared at the Old Bailey on Friday, where he spoke to confirm his name and date of birth, and to enter a not guilty plea to the charge.

Mr Kaba, 24, was shot once in the head through the windscreen of a car in Streatham, south London, in September 2022.

The officer was initially identified only as NX121, but Recorder of London Mark Lucraft KC ruled that naming him, as is normal practice in criminal cases involving adult defendants, posed no real or immediate risk to his life or that of his family.

His home address or any image or description of him cannot be published.

Members of Mr Kaba’s family were in court at the Old Bailey on Friday as the officer was named, with some leaving the courtroom in tears during the hearing.

Mr Blake was released on bail and is due to face trial on October 2.

The trial is expected to take three weeks and will be before Mr Justice Goss.

On the day of the shooting, Mr Kaba was driving an Audi that did not belong to him, and turned into Kirstall Gardens where he collided with a marked police car, before he was shot.