This time it was Silcott who dealt the lethal blow, and at his trial he lied about his possession of a weapon. It may well have been that he was badly advised.The dead man was a 22-year-old boxer and gang leader, Anthony Smith. According to independent accounts, Smith and two fellow posse members came after Silcott with a knife at a club. A doorman told police (in a statement not heard at the trial): "Between you and me, the dead guy caused it all. He came in with a knife and cut Sticks [Silcott] and Sticks defended himself." Silcott might have been expected to be convicted of the lesser charge of manslaughter. The magistrate allowed him out on bail - unusual, in the case of murder.It was in accordance with those bail conditions, according to Silcott, that he was signing on at a police station at 7.15pm, when the riot was underway; the police said he had signed in at 6pm but the book with his signature had been "misplaced". After he was paid compensation for his wrongful conviction in the Blakelock case, the Daily Mail declared: "Outrage upon outrage.
Shame upon shame." Silcott's conviction for an unconnected murder still stands; that fact is constantly entangled with the horrific murder of PC Keith Blakelock at the Broadwater Farm riot in October 1985.The most famous image of Silcott - "The Beast of Broadwater Farm", as he became known - was taken after he was dragged out of his cell and his arms pinioned to his sides; the picture was released to the media for them to use as they saw fit. In defiance of all legal constraints, The Sun promptly published it under the headline: "First picture in machete death case". I don't care if he is guilty or not." That attitude remains prevalent, even today. The first public perception of Winston Silcott, as monster incarnate, has proved difficult to erase. After Silcott was first cleared of killing PC Keith Blakelock, a typical comment from Scotland Yard was: "He is an animal. THE TWO French magistrates investigating the murder of British student Isabel Peake were in Staffordshire yesterday accompanied by two French detectives, building up a picture of her personality and background. The investigators have spoken with Miss Peake's parents and will also talk to her sister and to her friends and teachers in Birmingham, where Miss Peake was a student. One question that they will try to answer is why Miss Peake, 20, left her flat in Limoges in central France in the early hours of 13 October to make an overnight journey to Britain.
Mr Blair is the only European leader who never stands up for his country." He insisted that Mr Blair had been a failure in his own terms, since he had repeatedly cited the lifting of the beef ban as a success of Labour's whole approach to Europe.Mr Hague listed six other ways in which Labour had "surrendered" to the EU since winning power - over the social chapter of workers' rights; giving up the veto in 15 areas; defence policy; Common Agricultural Policy reform; the appointment of Romano Prodi as European Commission president and by moving towards joining the single currency."Mr Blair's strategy of making concessions in Europe at every turn has meant that vital British interests have been abandoned," said Mr Hague "He has achieved absolutely nothing in return. He should now start standing up for Britain's interests in Europe instead of Europe's interests in Britain."Mr Blair famously said he never wanted to be isolated in Europe In fact, his isolation is complete. The only governments that succeed in Europe are those that have got a spine."Tony Blair just sells out. "You don't get respect just by grinning at everybody," he said.Mr Hague taunted Mr Blair by saying that France, which is resisting pressure from the European Commission to lift the beef ban, had "operated far more successfully in Europe than the Blair government".He said: "France doesn't worry about not having another ally It just stands up for its own point of view. One French source said technical talks which took place in Brussels yesterday had "made progress", and EU officials characterised the meeting as "really constructive"..
WILLIAM HAGUE accused Tony Blair of "grovelling" to Britain's European Union partners last night as he stepped up his attack over the Government's failure to get the ban on British beef lifted. The Tory leader accused the Prime Minister of damaging Britain's prospects in future EU negotiations by "grovelling, conceding and giving in" over beef. He claimed Mr Blair had lost credibility in the eyes of other EU leaders. He said the Prime Minister's handling of the beef crisis showed that his wider strategy on Europe was now in tatters. The French premier, Lionel Jospin, in talks on Thursday with Romano Prodi, the European Commission president, tried to postpone legal action but Brussels views this as almost impossible.Two issues remain unresolved, one being labelling of British beef, the other, more difficult one being traceability.
