Anonymity for firearms officers will harm public confidence, Shabana Mahmood told

Senior media figures say hiding names of those facing trial would ‘ride roughshod over the principles of open justice’

A government plan to give anonymity to firearms officers in England and Wales facing criminal charges will damage public confidence in policing and fuel online misinformation, a coalition of editors, journalists and media lawyers have said.

In a letter to the home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, seen by the Guardian, the group warned the measure would make officers empowered to use lethal force less accountable than ordinary members of the public.