A confidential Metropolitan Police review recommended that frontline officers be routinely issued with semi-automatic pistols to protect them from knife attackers, but the force has rejected that recommendation and said it will continue to follow national guidance that does not support arming all frontline officers.
The internal review, produced by the Met's public and personal safety unit after two officers were stabbed in Leicester Square in 2022, argued that equipping all officers with self-loading pistols (SLPs) would better position them to respond to "spontaneous threats" and avoid reliance on firearms stored in vehicles. The Met said it follows College of Policing guidance "which does not support the arming of all front-line officers" and that officer safety remains a priority.
The review said the SLPs would remain on an officer's belt and would not require vehicle firearm safes, and that widespread carriage of SLPs "would not affect the work of dedicated firearms units (MO19) and in practice would work in the same manner as BCU officers carrying tasers." Currently, firearms in the Met are restricted to specially trained officers who respond to high-risk incidents, protect official buildings and patrol major events. All officers are issued batons and Pava spray, and the force has a target to equip 10,000 officers with Tasers by the summer of 2027.
The report was commissioned after an incident in Leicester Square in 2022 in which Mohammed Rahman, 25, became violent when approached by PCs Joseph Gerrard and Alannah Mulhall over a robbery and overcame batons, Tasers and Pava spray to stab both officers. Rahman was later found guilty of attempted murder and jailed for life with a minimum term of 20 years. The unit that wrote the review said the force had a duty to protect staff and that "the dangers faced by police officers are genuine and can have catastrophic results." It added that by not training to mitigate those dangers, the service had "failed in its duty to safeguard its own staff."
The recommendation comes amid recruitment and retention pressures in the Met's armed units that intensified after the fatal shooting of Chris Kaba on Sept. 5, 2022. Sergeant Martyn Blake, who shot Kaba as officers boxed in an Audi Q8 in Streatham, was charged with murder in 2023 but acquitted by jurors in a matter of hours at an Old Bailey trial. The original decision to charge the officer prompted a number of firearms officers to step back from duties in protest. Sir Mark Rowley, the Met commissioner, warned at the time that charging firearms officers in such circumstances was damaging morale and making London less safe.
Although acquitted, Sergeant Blake still faces a gross misconduct hearing and his case has become a focal point in debates about armed policing and the risks officers face. Former National Police Federation branch chair Rich Cooke supported arming more officers, saying it was a "no-brainer" and suggesting other Western countries manage the approach without similar issues.
The Met pointed to other recent knife attacks to underscore the threats faced by officers. Body-worn camera footage released earlier this year showed Sergeant Jack Taylor being slashed on the wrist while attempting to detain a knifeman in Tower Hamlets; the officer sustained a two-inch cut that narrowly missed an artery. A Met spokesperson said the force's specialist firearms officers "consist of thousands of experienced officers" who play a vital role and "where there is a necessity, will be deployed to support their unarmed colleagues." The spokesperson reiterated that the force is "constantly reviewing our practices to ensure they have the most appropriate training and support."
Calls to change the long-standing unarmed model for most British police officers revive long-running debates about policing tactics, officer safety and public expectations. The Met's rejection of the internal review leaves the status quo intact for now, including the continued reliance on specialist firearms units and the planned rollout of Tasers, while the service continues to face operational and morale challenges linked to high-profile incidents involving armed officers.