British Army was put on standby after fears of walkout by armed police over officer's court case

Personnel from the British Army were put on standby to cover for armed police if they walked out from their roles.

The Sun newspaper reported that troops from the Royal Regiment of Scotland and military drivers from the Royal Logistic Corps were set to step in – and were secretly deployed to London.

It was feared that armed officers would walk out in protest if firearms officer Martyn Blake was convicted of murdering Chris Kaba.

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Mr Blake was cleared of the murder of Mr Kaba, who, unarmed, was shot in the head in his car during a police vehicle stop in Streatham, south London, in September 2022.

An emergency contingency plan, codenamed Operation Temperer, was drafted in case the police officers in the Metropolitan Police's MO19 Specialist Firearms Command threatened action in the event of a conviction.

The soldiers were apparently due to go on armed patrols in Land Rovers and white vans because they are not trained to use police vehicles.

It is reported that the Home Office asked for help from the Army at the request of the Met Police.

A Government spokesperson said: "The safety and security of the public is the government's first priority and we will always take the necessary steps to ensure this is upheld.   "We will not comment further on operational detail."

Last year, 300 armed officers handed in their weapons when Sgt Blake was charged, with the Sun then reporting that sources confirmed many Met armed police officers had planned to hand in their firearms licences, referred to as 'blue tickets', if Sgt Blake was found guilty.

After a not guilty verdict was delivered on Sgt Blake, Met Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said: "No police officer is above the law, but we have been clear the system holding police to account is broken."

Mr Kaba's family, however, said the decision was "painful proof that our lives are not valued by the system".

The Met said the officer, who had been suspended throughout the process, would be reinstated with immediate effect.