‘Pre-planned or spontaneous?’
We divided firearms operations into those two categories.
‘It falls somewhere between the two. We had about two hours’ notice.’
I could hear muffled applause in the banqueting room. Rafferty had finally stopped preening.
‘Any of our people hurt?’
‘None, sir.’
‘Good. What happened?’
‘Information was received from an impeccable source. A violent criminal, wanted for two shootings and suspicion of involvement in three others, was holed up in a house in Milldean before crossing to France tomorrow. He was known to be armed and dangerous.’ Macklin cleared his throat. ‘I approved an operation to enter the premises forcibly and arrest him.’
‘And did we arrest him?’
‘No, sir.’
‘He resisted arrest?’
Macklin hesitated. I could hear his strained breathing on the other end of the phone. I felt my stomach knot.
‘Philip, just tell me what happened.’
Macklin reverted to formality.
‘Four people have been killed in a house in Milldean.’
‘Jesus Christ. What was this – the Gunfight at the OK Corral?’ I looked around to see if anyone could overhear but the nearest security guard was a good thirty yards down the long corridor. ‘I take it he wasn’t alone, then.’
Macklin was silent. My mind racing, I continued:
‘Kratos?’
There were regular rules for firearm incidents – officers should shoot to incapacitate suspects and aim at the upper body because it provided the largest target and offered the best chance of knocking out the central nervous system. Then there were Operation Kratos tactics.
These allowed police to shoot dead suspected suicide bombers without the need to issue a warning. Under Operation Kratos, a senior officer was on standby twenty-four hours a day to authorize the deployment of special armed squads to track and maybe shoot dead suspected suicide bombers. Shoot dead in any damned way they could.
‘No, sir.’
‘But none of our people were injured, you say. Were they fired upon?’
Another hesitation.
‘That’s not entirely clear at this stage, sir.’
‘But these dead people were armed? Tell me that at least.’
‘That’s not entirely clear either. Sir.’
It does me no credit to say that I immediately went into containment mode. I was sorry these people were dead but I wanted to protect my force, minimize the fallout. And, if I’m honest, I wanted to protect myself.
‘Get hold of Jack.’
Jack Lawrence was my chief press officer. He was experienced at dealing with high-profile cases after a long stint with the Met.
‘Jack’s on the scene already.’
‘With journalists?’
‘I believe so.’
‘They were bloody quick.’
‘With respect, sir, you have been encouraging a more open relationship with the press. Jack thought the raid would be a good story for journalists to be in on.’
‘OK. They were in the house?’
‘Not in the house, no, sir.’
I found myself staring at a small porcelain figure of a Chinese man on a plinth directly in front of me. His head was slowly nodding.
‘Get Jack to call a press conference for noon tomorrow. I want a full report on my desk by nine in the morning.’
‘Sir, you might want to wait a little-’
‘I don’t want anyone to accuse us of closing ranks-’ I caught Macklin’s tone. ‘Why might I want to wait a little?’
Macklin cleared his throat again. He was driving me nuts.
‘Yes?’ I said sharply. ‘Tell me there isn’t a way this could get any worse.’
I waited out the silence.
Finally:
‘It seems we might have raided the wrong house.’
When I had taken over the Southern Police Force three months earlier I had walked into an organization in need of a major shake-up. Macklin, who had gone for my job after years as Assistant Chief Constable, was on my list of people to sack. And overhauling the ramshackle way the force’s tactical firearms unit operated was one of my priorities.
However, although I hit the ground running, I’d been sidetracked by the fallout from a mishandled child murder and a load of other stuff that needed sorting. I’d also been hindered by Macklin and others on my Force Command team, as well as lower down the hierarchy.
I guess I’d hoped that we could muddle on as we had been doing until I could really get to grips with the situation. After all, Gatwick Airport Division was part of my command so I had the elite Gatwick tactical firearms unit to fall back on. Plus firearm incidents in our area were relatively rare, even with the increased threat of terrorist outrages.
Clearly I’d been unduly optimistic.
‘When did this happen?’ I said to Macklin.
‘Thirty minutes ago.’
‘I’m on my way. Give me the address.’
‘I’m not sure that’s a good idea, sir. There’s a situation developing.’
‘What kind of situation?’
‘The pubs are emptying, there are a lot of people on the streets. Some stones have been thrown.’
I laughed harshly.
‘Oh, great. So now we have a riot.’
‘It’s not got to that stage yet. But you know Milldean at the best of times. And with the drink…’
‘Get police in riot gear down there. I want this containing before it does get out of hand.’
I was obliged to go now, although I didn’t relish being doorstepped by journalists asking questions about an operation I had no fucking clue about.
Macklin seemed to read my thoughts.
‘There was no need to bother you with it, sir. I have the authority and from the briefing notes I received it all seemed pretty clear cut.’
‘I’m sure it did, Philip. I’m sure it did.’
My driver already had the address. En route I tried to get hold of William Simpson, the government adviser who had been my friend since childhood. He had been a spin doctor until the government had banned the term (though not the spinning). I left messages for him at home, at work and on his mobile.
The Home Secretary and PM would need to be informed. I had the ear of the current government over my sincere belief that British policemen should be armed. Indeed, the government secretly favoured this policy, keen as it was to be seen as tough on crime – the tough-on-the-causes-of-crime part of the rubric of the previous government was long forgotten.
I had consistently argued for the increased safety of the community if the police were routinely armed, even after the debacle on the London tube. I had become the government’s poster boy on the issue. I knew the fact I was a liberal on all other police matters made my view on this issue all the more powerful.
