Chris Kaba: MoD offers military support after armed Met officers turn in weapons
The MoD is offering up soldiers to support armed cops in London following dozens of Met Officers handing over their weapons and standing down from firearms duties.
More than 100 Met cops have turned in permits allowing them to carry weapons, according to a source. There are more than 2,500 armed cops in the Met.
Police said the action was being taken after an unnamed cop was charged with the murder of an unarmed man – Chris Kaba, when he was 24.
Met boss Sir Mark Rowley welcomed a Home Office review into armed policing.
In an open letter to the home secretary, he said it was right his force was “held to the highest standards” – but the current system was undermining his officers and suggested they needed more legal protections.
In a statement, the Met said some officers were “worried” about how the Crown Prosecution Service’s decision to bring a charge “impacts on them”.
It comes after the MoD said it received a request – known as Military Aid to the Civil Authorities (MACA) – from the Home Office to “provide routine counter-terrorism contingency support to the Metropolitan Police, should it be needed”.
A MACA is offered to the police and the NHS in emergency situations such as the military helping during Covid and covering for striking border staff and paramedics last year.
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