Home secretary says new rules in England and Wales will mean armed officers stay anonymous unless convicted

The identity of armed police officers charged after opening fire at suspects are likely to stay secret in future unless they are convicted, the home secretary has announced.

Yvette Cooper’s statement to MPs came after the acquittal on Monday of the Metropolitan police sergeant Martyn Blake for shooting dead Chris Kaba in south London in September 2022. The jury took just three hours to unanimously find him not guilty.