Jeremy Corbyn, Diane Abbott and Sadiq Khan have been urged to apologize after criticizing police over the shooting of violent gangster Chris Kaba.
The liberal left is accused of treating Kaba as an innocent victim of police brutality, despite his extensive criminal past.
A jury at the Old Bailey took just three hours to clear Sergeant Martyn Blake of Kaba's murder after a three-week trial after the 23-year-old was stopped by armed police and shot in south London in 2022.
Details of Kaba's violent past were released on Tuesday and showed he was a leading member of a gang involved in gun crime and drug trafficking. His family, who insisted that Kaba had changed his life and wanted to become an architect, tried to prevent the press from reporting such details.
Lord Stevens, the former commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, said some politicians were too quick to jump on the bandwagon by comparing Kaba's death to that of George Floyd, the African-American man killed by a US police officer in Minneapolis in 2020 .
Robert Jenrick, the Tory leadership candidate, criticized numerous charities, non-governmental organizations and far-left politicians for "employing" the shooting to justify their pre-existing prejudices.
Sir Jacob Rees Mogg, the former Tory MP, also slammed Sadiq Khan for 'bragging' about his contact with the Independent Office for Police Conduct, which investigated the Kaba shooting, despite the Mayor of London likely to be on the was aware of Kaba's criminal past.
Lord Stevens, the crossbench peer who was Met commissioner from 2000 to 2005, said many people simply assumed Kaba was a completely innocent man.
"People need to stop and think. "I believe that the liberal left should apologize now that it has emerged that, among other things, he was involved in a shooting and chased a man outside the night before his death," he told The Telegraph.
"Let's accept what he was and what he did."
Lord Stevens emphasized that Kaba's death was a tragedy, adding: 'You can see why he behaved that way in that car; he wanted to escape from the police and was desperate to do so. I think those who cheered him should apologise."
He said he believed Kaba's family was wrong in trying to "hide" his substantial criminal past, adding: "We have an open society and people need to understand what we are dealing with."
Shortly after the 2022 shooting, Black Lives Matter held a rally in which protesters declared that "the police are murderers" and called for the demolition of the Met force.
Stormzy, the rapper, addressed the crowd and supported the family's call for "accountability", saying: "No one should be allowed to continue like this."
Mr Corbyn, the independent MP for Islington North and former leader of the Labor Party, attended the protest along with Ms Abbott, Bell Ribeiro-Addy and Harriet Harman.
Corbyn said his thoughts were with Kaba's family "as they fight for justice and accountability". Ms Abbott, the MP for Hackney, told protesters: "I don't know how I would feel if it was my son who was murdered in cold blood."
Sir Jacob said those who misled the public about Kaba should feel "ashamed".
He told The Telegraph: "As Black Lives Matter seeks to defund the police, it is no surprise that Kaba's left-wing supporters would choose a violent thug over law and order.
"Yet those who suggested he was anything other than a gangster should be deeply ashamed of themselves for misleading the public and inflaming racial tensions.
"This is particularly true of Sadiq Khan, who should have known the background and prided himself on having close contact with the IOPC. As co-overseer to the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, his behavior was irresponsible at best."
A spokesperson for the Labor mayor said: "As with all fatal police shootings, it is for the IOPC to independently assess the full circumstances of the case and consider whether the officer[s] those involved must be confronted with any form of misconduct."
Mr Jenrick added: "Charities, NGOs and far-left politicians have all latched onto Chris Kaba's case to justify their pre-existing prejudices about Britain.
"Even now, after the firearms officer has been acquitted by a full jury and the truth about Kaba's violent past has been revealed, baseless accusations of 'state violence' abound.
"The British left has been so infected by American identity politics that they are now blind to the difference between right and wrong.
"They are so consumed with false stories about racism in our country that they defend the indefensible," he added.
"By not supporting Martyn Blake, Sadiq Khan has jeopardized the work of firearms officers and endangered the safety of Londoners - from dangerous criminals like Kaba."
The full extent of Kaba's criminal past came to light on Tuesday after reporting restrictions on his criminal career were lifted.
In the early hours of August 30, 2022 - just six days before he died - Kaba and three other members of his gang smuggled a gun into a Notting Hill Carnival after-party at an east London nightclub.
CCTV footage shows how he shot a 23-year-old man in the leg. As the target tried to flee, Kaba followed him outside and shot him as he lay on the ground. The man survived.
He and his associates left in an Audi Q8, the same car he was driving the night he was shot dead.
On September 4 - the day before he was shot by police - Kaba and his gang were suspected of carrying out a gun attack on the occupants of a Mercedes car outside a primary school in Brixton.
The Audi Q8 was again used by the group as a getaway car. Although the identity of the shooter was never determined, analysis of Kaba's clothing revealed gunshot residue.
Kaba's criminal convictions date back to the age of 13. By his late teens he had moved from petty crime to serious violence, with convictions for stabbings and grievous bodily harm.
In December 2022, the University of Greenwich said: "In September we heard the heartbreaking news of the death of Chris Kaba, a 24-year-old musician and aspiring architect who was expecting a baby with his fiancée. Two years ago, following the murder of George Floyd, our university pledged to do more to eliminate institutional racism.
"It is essential that we all remain honest and humble about the challenges we face in the work that needs to be done, and that we make no apologies in the fight for equality and social justice."
The statement now appears to have been removed from the website.
At the time of his death, Kaba was an expectant father, but court records also show that he was served a 28-day domestic violence protection order in April 2022 regarding the mother of his unborn child.
The order prohibited him from contacting her on social media or going onto the street where she lived.
