The Society of Editors and the Crime Reporters Association have warned that plans to introduce a presumption of anonymity for firearms officers facing criminal trial represents “a significant departure” from the principle of open justice.
In a joint letter to Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, Society of Editors executive director Dawn Alford and Crime Reporters Association chair Rebecca Camber sought assurances that the new framework could not one day expand to cover other officers accused of using force in the line of duty.
The anonymity proposals — introduced last week after the police officer who shot Chris Kaba dead in 2022 was found not guilty of his murder — would keep the identity of accused firearms officers secret until they are convicted.
Since 1990 there have been four prosecutions of firearms officers over shooting deaths, and in none of those cases was an individual officer ultimately convicted. (The Metropolitan Police as a whole were convicted over the killing of Jean Charles de Menezes in 2005.)
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The Home Secretary’s proposals are intended to protect officers against possible future retribution. Sky News has reported that Martyn Blake, the officer who shot Kaba, is living in hiding after a bounty was placed on his head by gang members. Blake’s identity had been kept secret until a successful media challenge led the judge to lift a previous anonymity order.
However Alford and Camber said they felt “shared concern” that a presumption of anonymity could in time undermine the principle of open justice.
They wrote: “While we recognise that criminal prosecutions brought against police officers for actions taken in the course of their duties are extremely rare, the proposal to grant automatic anonymity for firearms officers represents a significant departure from the principle of open justice and raises serious questions about transparency and public confidence in the police service as a whole.
“While limited to firearms officers at present, the introduction of such legislation risks laying the framework for other officers accused of using force in the line of duty to seek anonymity under the same provisions and, with this in mind, we would welcome your assurances as to what measures you have taken to ensure this cannot happen and that judges will not seek to apply the same provisions elsewhere.
“While we recognise that such steps are being introduced for the purpose of protecting officers from future retribution, open justice remains a fundamental principle at the very heart of our justice system and is vital to our rule of law. This week you talked about restoring confidence in the police. For confidence to be enhanced, the rule of law must apply equally to police as it does to the general public.”
[Related: Journalists fear ‘secret justice’ over proposed one-reporter limit in sex trials]
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