CAMPAIGNERS expressed “deep concern” yesterday over a review into police accountability which they fear could weaken scrutiny of officers involved in deaths and serious incidents.

Inquest, a charity which investigates state-related deaths, alongside organisations including Liberty, Centre for Women’s Justice and the United Friends and Family Campaign, have written to the Home Secretary Yvette Cooper to outline their concerns.

The letter expressed frustration over the origins of the review, which it says was launched due to pressure from police following the decision to prosecute officer Martyn Blake over the fatal shooting of Chris Kaba.

Legal tests in two Supreme Court cases are being examined, which the organisations say could lead to the reversal of crucial decisions on the use of force in police misconduct cases, and the threshold for determining unlawful killing in inquests.

The letter highlights that the number of times officers in such cases have been prosecuted for a death is already “vanishingly small,” with only one successful prosecution for manslaughter and none for murder since 1990.

In that time, there have been 1,916 deaths during or after police contact. 

The letter says the legislative changes under consideration would have had no impact on the prosecution of Mr Blake, cleared of murder in October, indicating that the “review is less a knee-jerk reaction but rather a dangerous and calculated attempt to use a high-profile case to push for less scrutiny and accountability of police actions.”

It argues that the impact of changing the thresholds for inquest conclusions would be “incredibly wide-ranging, well beyond the sphere of policing, and would have profound effects on inquests into suicides and cases involving violence against women, mass fatalities and deaths in prison.”

Director of Inquest Deborah Coles said: “This review is a cynical attempt to shield the police from accountability and protect them from the rule of law. Police do not have a licence to kill.

“Despite persistent claims from the police lobby that police officers face too much scrutiny, we know that in reality officers rarely face consequences for their criminality and wrongdoing. 

“Rather than undermining important legal protections without any clear evidence base, the focus should be on ending police violence and racism and ensuring that the harms of policing stop.”

The Home Office has been contacted for comment.