Chaotic court scenes as legal argument raged before Chris Kaba verdict
Journalists had wanted to tell the full facts behind the fatal shooting of unarmed Chris Kaba but were prevented by a raft of reporting restrictions.
When a jury in the trial of firearms officer Sergeant Martyn Blake sent a note saying they had a verdict, an argument was still in full flow about what could be reported at the end of the trial.
Journalists had wanted to tell the full facts behind the fatal shooting of unarmed Chris Kaba – including his violent past – but were prevented by a raft of reporting restrictions during the Old Bailey trial.
Mr Kaba’s mother had applied for her son’s background to remain secret pending an inquest, although no date had been set.
Media organisations opposed to the move, pointing out that many details had already been reported and there was a high public interest.
There were chaotic scenes in court as Mr Justice Goss called a halt to the legal argument in order to take the verdict which cleared Mr Blake of murder, leaving the issue up in the air until the next day.
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Stuart Cundy had submitted a letter to the court in favour of open justice, heading off any potential public unrest as a result of the verdict in the high profile and contentious case.
On Tuesday, Mr Justice Goss announced his decision to allow reporting of Mr Kaba’s gang member status, previous convictions and alleged direct involvement in two shootings days before his death.
However, in the intervening hours there had already been wide speculation and commentary about the case based on an incomplete picture.
From the start, members of the media had faced a number of legal battles for permission to report fully on the trial of Mr Blake and Mr Kaba’s background.
When the officer was first charged in September last year, he was referred to only by the cypher NX121, but was named in January following legal representations by media organisations including the PA news agency.
Journalists successfully argued that defendants charged with murder are normally publicly named, as a key part of a transparent justice system.
Opponents had raised concern for Mr Blake’s safety and extra security was put in place to protect him at subsequent court appearances.
Later an order was put in place under section 4(2) of the Contempt of Court Act preventing the naming of Mr Kaba in the trial of other men over a shooting at a nightclub in Hackney.
As the alleged gunman, Mr Kaba could not be named in reporting of the trial, and none of the key CCTV evidence could be made public.
A separate order was put in place on legal argument in the run up to Mr Blake’s trial, that detailed the so-called “bad character” evidence relating to Mr Kaba, including the nightclub shooting.
More information about his previous convictions and firearms incidents linked to the Audi that he was driving were all kept from the jury on the grounds that they were not relevant to the issues in the case.
It was successfully argued that Mr Blake knew nothing of Mr Kaba’s link to earlier shootings and indeed had no idea who was at the wheel of the Audi when he opened fire.
Accusations that the prosecution presented an overly-positive image of the victim to the jury held no sway in the argument for the jury to be told of Mr Kaba’s activities gang connections.
On Monday, the jury in the case took the unusual step of asking Mr Justice Goss if they could say something to the court when delivering their verdict.
Permission was denied, and an application by Jude Bunting KC on behalf of media organisations including the Daily Mail, Times, Telegraph and the BBC, to see the note was rejected.
