Chris Kaba's biggest supporters - from Jeremy Corbyn to his mum who called police 'racist'

A number of high-profile figures including former Labour Party leader previously expressed support for Chris Kaba before the police officer who shot him dead was cleared of murder this week.

Met Police firearms officer Martyn Blake which took just three hours to reach.

The 40-year-old officer shot Mr Kaba, 24, in the head as he was trying to escape from a vehicle stop in Streathem, south London, on September 5, 2022.

Mr Kaba was unarmed, but Mr Blake said he feared for his life and the lives of his fellow officers as Mr Kaba was ramming his vehicle back and forth having been boxed in.

Police did not know Mr Kaba was the man in the vehicle when they stopped it, but only knew it was potentially linked to a shooting the night before.

Now reporting restrictions have been lifted after the Old Bailey trial's conclusion, it has been revealed that Mr Kaba was a prominent gang member and was involved in an alleged shooting just days before his death.

Met Commissioner Mark Rowley was unhappy that the case had gone to trial, and lamented the "broken" system once Mr Blake had walked free.

, adding that the ruling gives the police "impunity" to kill.

In the days after his death, Mr Kaba's mum Helen Kaba said the "police have taken Chris from me" and "this is very racist."

A number of other figures have shown support for Mr Kaba since his death.

In September 2022, former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn posted on X: "We cannot live the pain felt by his family, but we can support them in demanding #JusticeForChrisKaba."

Rapper Stormzy also joined protests following Mr Kaba's death, saying in September 2022: "Chris has a mother, he has a family, he has brothers, he has friends, people who knew him in real life, who for them, it's unbearable."

He added: "Everyone here today, I would encourage everyone to have stamina.

"And I know it's a very difficult thing to say... But when these people do these things, they get away with it, because what happens is we do this once, we get tired, we tweet, we get tired, we do it for a week, we do it for two weeks, we do it for a month, and they know we get tired.

"What they've done is they've killed someone. We can't sugarcoat it."

Labour MPs Diane Abbott and Streatham Labour MP Bell Ribeiro-Addy also attended the event and have been critical of the Met following Mr Kaba's death.

The Runnymede Trust, a British race equality and civil rights think tank, posted on X on Monday: "The legal system doesn't deliver real justice for families bereaved by racist state violence.

"Since 1990 there have been 1,904 deaths in or following police custody or contact. In that time, only one officer has been found guilty for manslaughter, and none for murder."

However, some have expressed support for the officer, including Conservative Party leadership hopeful Robert Jenrick.

He said on Monday that the officer was a "hero" and should not have been charged.

Mr Jenrick said: "Martyn Blake, the firearms officer cleared today, was a hero who found himself fearing for his life and the life of his colleagues.

"His prosecution was wrong and endangered the public. The ordeal he has gone through, unthinkable. We must back our brave police officers, and not drag them through the courts for making split-second decisions."