Sadiq Khan came under attack from a Home Office minister today for changing his position on a police “shoot to kill” policy.
James Brokenshire accused Labour’s mayoral candidate of switching his views when running for City Hall to appear tougher on security issues. The London Tory MP said the capital’s security was too important to be trusted to a mayor who had reservations about the policy.
Last week, Mr Khan pledged to back officers required to shoot to kill during a terrorist attack. He said: “I will give my full backing to our armed officers to take the decisions necessary to keep us safe.” But in 2005, after the shooting of innocent Brazilian Jean Charles de Menezes, Mr Khan expressed reservations about the policy. While he acknowledged that police faced an “invidious” task, he said people needed reassurance they would only open fire when intelligence led them to believe the public was in imminent danger.
“Unless the intelligence is 100 per cent on the button, if an error is made, it is not necessarily somebody being wrongfully stopped and searched or somebody being wrongfully arrested, it’s somebody being wrongfully killed,” he said.
Mr Brokenshire, who was a security minister for four years, said: “Khan, who previously voiced concerns about shoot to kill, is experimenting with his principles once again to try and appear tough. London’s security needs to be in the hands of someone who consistently backs the police when they take difficult decisions to keep us safe.”
A spokesman for Mr Khan said: “Sadiq made it clear that he will support police officers who are left with no choice but to shoot to kill.”
