News today that a man, Nicholas Jacobs, has been charged with the murder of PC Keith Blakelock in the 1985 Broadwater Farm uprising in Tottenham should be a reminder to The Sun newspaper to apologize for pursing Winston Silcott for 20 years.
Silcott had the conviction quashed in 1991 after forensic tests suggested evidence against him was fabricated by police. However that did not satisfy The Sun who continued to hound his every move for another 14 years.
The picture (above), which featured Silcott on a day release “shopping trip” in 2002 before his release is a typical example. Each time Silcott appeared so did a Sun “exclusive” complete with a quote from PC Blakelock’s bereaved wife. As far as the newspaper was concerned he was still guilty regardless of the evidence.
Silcott was in jail for the murder of Tony Smith, not PC Blakelock but in 2005 The Sun were still at it, fulminating about his imminent release and of course making reference to the Broadwater killing.
In fairness I do not blame PC Blakelock’s wife. The real culprits are the Police Federation, the powerful ‘union’ for rank-and-file beat officers, and prison staff who continued to feed the newspaper with tip-offs. Whether any money changed hands is a matter of speculation.
But the unholy alliance clearly benefited all parties who were united in their desire to keep the vendetta against Silcott going as long as possible. It was unfinished business and as far as they were concerned Silcott did it.
Only he didn’t. He was awarded £50,000 in compensation for false imprisonment and malicious prosecution in 1999, as well as £17,000 for wrongful conviction. His award was greeted with this comment from Bob Elder of the Police Fed: “As far as I’m concerned they can throw away the key.”
In 1999, eight years after Silcott’s conviction for the killing of PC Blakelock was quashed, The Sun ran a front page splash – “He’s Out!” – accompanied by a large photo of him on day release. The sense of danger must have flowed through every one of their three million readers, at least those that aren’t black.
The front page screeched; “”This is grinning murderer Winston Silcott – out of jail and enjoying a shopping spree.” There was the obligatory reference to PC Blakelock.
Clearly the law has to follow its’ course in the prosecution of Nicholas Jacobs. He may or may not be found guilty. However the accompanying news that police were not seeking anyone else today is final confirmation, if confirmation were needed, that Silcott is innocent of that particular crime.
Time, then, for The Sun to apologize for their treatment of Silcott over a 20 year period? Don’t hold your breath. The advantage of being a big-selling daily tabloid is never having to say sorry unless you really, really have to. Like when a whole city, Liverpool, boycott the paper en mass over the outrageous Hillsborough slur.
Silcott is not a stranger to being on the front page of The Sun. It began way back in 1987 beside the headline ‘Face of Man in Riot PC Murder Charge.’ The trial judge said that some coverage had been ‘reprehensible’. He publicly condemned the Sun for publishing a photograph of Winston Silcott during the trial, when identification was likely to be an issue.
At the same time The Sun was busy making excuses for the death of Cynthia Jarrett at the hands of the police, the incident that sparked the Broadwater disturbances in the first place. The paper opined: “Mrs Cynthia Jarrett died of a heart attack. She was grossly overweight and had other medical problems.”
The same newspaper was also roundly condemning the then leader of Haringey Council, Bernie Grant, over his remark that the police had got a “bloody good hiding” in Broadwater. “May he rot in hell”, the Sun said of him. And so for the next 13 years Britain’s most popular black politician was, in their eyes, “Barmy Bernie” right up until his premature death in 2000.
The red top has a miserable record when it comes to these matters, not least their coverage of the Birmingham Six, later cleared of the IRA bombing of Britan’s second city.
The Sun’s shameful record goes back even further. In 1981 they splashed with “Day the Blacks Ran Riot in London” when disturbances broke out after the New Cross Fire in 1981, further evidence that their populism was frequently tinged with racism.
In order to put this record behind them the paper should apologize to Silcott for their treatment of him. I’m not holding my breath but will be buying it tomorrow to see how they describe Silcott.
By Lester Holloway @brolezholloway
