MASTS Documentation and Training Clarity
Anthony Grainger Inquiry · The Anthony Grainger Inquiry Report into the Death of Anthony Grainger · Issued 11 July 2019 · Addressed to: National Police Chiefs Council
Government responseHome Office: Accepted (May 2020)
DeliveryHome Office states no delivery position (Jun 2020)
Recommendation, verbatim from the inquiry
●Inquiry recommendation
All documents and training relating to Mobile Armed Support to Surveillance (MASTS) should: clearly differentiate between MASTS as an operational method of supporting surveillance (and delivering a standard range of tactical options), and the additional tactical options of 'intervention' and 'interception' that MASTS trained authorised firearms officers (AFOs) can deliver; make clear that a MASTS deployment authorisation should not be taken to imply that 'intervention' or 'interception' are preauthorised or preferred tactical outcomes; note that decisive action by MASTS officers is a high-risk option and explain what factors lead to higher risks (for example, the presence of a subject inside a stationary vehicle); and make clear that the reasons for any strategic or tactical command decision in a firearms operation (including any decision to authorise such an operation) must be recorded at the time the decision is made unless it is impracticable to do so, in which case such reasons, together with a full explanation for not recording them at the time, must be recorded as soon as possible.
Anthony Grainger Inquiry, The Anthony Grainger Inquiry Report into the Death of Anthony Grainger · 11 Jul 2019 Source PDF →
Published evidence summary
AI-generated evidence summary
In June 2020, Kit Malthouse, Minister of State, stated that implementing the recommendation was complex and required reviewing national armed policing policy and training, leading the National Police Chiefs' Council to take the lead with input from the College of Policing and Greater Manchester Police (Kit Malthouse, Jun 2020). Relaying the addressee's position in May 2020, the Home Office explained that a joint review of training guidance addressed parts of the recommendation, though "certain aspects require further work" against a provisional completion target of 31 July 2020 (Home Office response, May 2020; Home Office, May 2020).
AI-generated summary of the record on this page, checked by a second model and automatic checks, 26 Sep 2026.
About this summary
Government response
●Home Office · Accepted · 19 May 2020
28. This recommendation is complex and has required a review of Authorised Professional Practice (APP), the National Police Firearms Training Curriculum (NPFTC) and associated policy and doctrine. NPCC have decided to take responsibility, given the important national implications and dependencies. 29. The College of Policing and NPCC's review of the relevant Mobile Armed Support to Surveillance (MASTS) module of the NPFTC and the guidance therein specifically addresses some of the above recommendations, but certain aspects require further work. The NPFTC was amended in 2015 to clarify that MASTS should be understood as an operational platform from which a number of options can be delivered rather than as a tactic. The outcome of decisive armed intervention (using firearms to challenge a subject) should not be taken as inevitable or pre-authorised. 30. These actions will ensure that there is a greater differentiation, and recognition of the higher risks, between the deployment of MASTS as support to surveillance and as an additional tactic of decisive armed intervention and interception. The provisional target is to complete work by 31 July 2020.
Extract from: Government response to the Anthony Grainger public inquiry (accessible version)
Delivery
●Home Office states no delivery position · 9 Jun 2020
The implementation of the recommendation on Mobile Armed Support To Surveillance (MASTS) was complex and required a review of national armed policing policy and training. Hence it was considered right for NPCC to take the lead, with input from the College of Policing and Greater Manchester Police.
Earlier statements on delivery (0)
●Home Office · 19 May 2020
29. The College of Policing and NPCC’s review of the relevant Mobile Armed Support to Surveillance (MASTS) module of the NPFTC and the guidance therein specifically addresses some of the above recommendations, but certain aspects require further work. The NPFTC was amended in 2015 to clarify that MASTS should be understood as an operational platform from which a number of options can be delivered rather than as a tactic. The outcome of decisive armed intervention (using firearms to challenge a subject) should not be taken as inevitable or pre-authorised.
30. These actions will ensure that there is a greater differentiation, and recognition of the higher risks, between the deployment of MASTS as support to surveillance and as an additional tactic of decisive armed intervention and interception. The provisional target is to complete work by 31 July 2020.
From: Government response to the Anthony Grainger public inquiry (accessible version)
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