00:00 I've been briefed on a regular basis, I'm not willing to go into operational details
00:05 in relation to information about the number of firearms officers there are in London because
00:10 obviously the bad guys would find out about it. But just to reassure Londoners that we
00:14 have the right level of armed response officers, firearms officers looking after our city.
00:21 We're using mutual aid to do that, that's not a secret. It's really important we don't
00:25 talk about current cases taking place. But I accept, as does the Commissioner of course,
00:31 the extreme pressure firearms officers operate under, the unique responsibilities they have.
00:38 I think the objective the Commissioner wants, which I support, is a system of scrutiny and
00:44 accountability that has the confidence of everyone.
00:47 This was entirely foreseeable though wasn't it? Think back 20 years ago, I remember being
00:51 at a City Hall press conference, Ken Livingstone was Mayor, Sir John Stevens was the Commissioner,
00:56 the coroner had just come back with an unlawful killing verdict in the Harry Stanley case
01:01 and then loads of armed cops then essentially said they didn't want to carry guns anymore.
01:05 Did the IOPC get it wrong when they actually investigated the Cava case and didn't take
01:11 into account the bigger issue here?
01:13 I think we're in danger of inadvertently prejudicing a group of federal that needs to take place.
01:20 Some are not willing to go into individual cases. What I'm clear about though is my recognition
01:24 and respect of firearms officers. They do an incredibly difficult job, I meet them regularly,
01:28 they work under extreme pressure, they have unique responsibilities. But it is important,
01:34 the Commissioner is saying this himself, as indeed with firearms officers there is a proper
01:38 system to hold them to account. But it's got to be one that has everyone's confidence.
Comments