Senior government sources told London newspaper The Sunday Times that David Cameron is prepared to change the law in 2016 after police chiefs, including the head of London's Metropolitan Police Service, warned that without protection from prosecution for pulling a trigger, Britain's police forces could compromise the UKs response to attacks by Islamic extremists.
Granting greater protection for police officers would make it harder for any legal proceedings to be brought against marksmen if they shoot to kill.
However, some opposition MPs think it's a knee-jerk response after a Scotland Yard firearms officer was arrested and suspended, pending a murder inquiry following the fatal shooting of a 28-year-old man during a police operation in north London.
"It is vital communities have complete confidence in their police. That means nobody should be above the law, including armed officers. The police do one of the hardest jobs there is and they must feel protected. But this needs to be reviewed in a calm and collected manner and not in a knee-jerk response to terror attacks," Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron said.
Armed police wandering around who can shoot to kill free of the legal process. Judge Dredd here we come? https://t.co/CTIrBiFtz5
— Vercovicium (@Vercovicium) December 21, 2015
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn says "any shoot to kill policy" could be counter-productive on the streets of Britain. The College of Policing stipulates that a fatal shot should only be fired "when absolutely necessary in defense of a person when there is an imminent and extreme risk to life from unlawful violence.
"A critical shot is a shot or shots to the head, if possible, or otherwise to the central nervous system of major organs," the College of Policing states.
Legal protection for police who shoot to kill is already adequate, according to the senior officer with responsibility for armed policing.
— Letter of the Law (@Letter_oftheLaw) December 21, 2015
Scotland Yard's shoot to kill response is still struggling with the legacy of the death of Jean Charles de Menezes.
In 2005, on July 22 — two weeks after the 7/7 bombing in London — the Brazilian man was shot seven times in the head by two police officers, killing him instantly. He was thought to be a potential suicide bomber but was later found to be innocent.
No police officer has ever been charged over his murder. The Crown Prosecution Service ruled out prosecuting the officers in 2006 but later charged the Met Police with breaching health and safety laws and issues and issued a fine of £175,000. In 2009, the Metropolitan Police paid the family compensation.
In July 2015, the family took their battle to the European Court of Human Rights, to challenge the decision not to prosecute anyone for the 2005 murder of Jean Charles de Menezes.
