Winston Silcott

Winston Silcott has been released from prison after serving 17 years for the murder of a man called Anthony Smith.

But he became one of Britain's most notorious hate figures for another crime - the murder of police constable Keith Blakelock during the Broadwater Farm riots in October 1985.

Winston Silcott's conviction for PC Blakelock's murder was later overturned, and he was awarded compensation. Now he's trying to overturn his conviction for the Smith murder too.

In one of the very few interviews he is giving since his release, Gavin Esler spoke to Winston Silcott and began by asking him what his relationship was like with the police before his convictions.

WINSTON SILCOTT:
The relationship with the police was very poor.

ESLER:
In what sort of way?

SILCOTT:
Well, it was sort of like a cat and mouse sort of game. They see you, they just believe you is up to something when you weren't.

ESLER:
You were charged with the murder of Anthony Smith, and convicted, and that is what you served the 17 years for. What happened in the incident in which he was killed, and why are you still contesting that conviction?

SILCOTT:
Well, what happened, it was a concerted plan on their behalf where they blocked my only exit from retreat out of the room I was in. Anthony Smith attacked me and the other two who were with him had drawn knives at the time, were behind me trying to come into the room to attack me from behind.

ESLER:
So what did you do?

SILCOTT:
Well, it was fortunate for me there was sort of a pandemonium, mayhem in a place where people who didn't want to be involved rushed out of the room. And the volume of the weight of the people sort of pushed the two at the door from coming in backwards. Which gave me a few seconds to move away from the door, and somebody offered me a knife to defend myself.

ESLER:
What did you do?

SILCOTT:
I took the knife.

ESLER:
And then?

SILCOTT:
I, well, he was attacking me, and I just lashed out.

ESLER:
And you killed him?

SILCOTT:
Hmm hmm.

ESLER:
When Cynthia Jarret died in Broadwater Farm as a result of a Heart attack while the police were searching her house, what was the atmosphere like then?

SILCOTT:
Well I wouldn't know, I wasn't about. So we didn't actually know of the atmosphere.

ESLER:
So you weren't there at all?

SILCOTT:
No.

ESLER:
I just wondered, though, what resulted from that was the riots, which received a great deal of publicity because of the murder of PC Keith Blakelock, but you weren't there?

SILCOTT:
I was no of the actual build-up of people going to the police station, I wasn't there.

ESLER:
Why do you think you were arrested for PC Keith Blakelock's murder then?

SILCOTT:
Well, I, I personally believe, like many others of my peers at the time, I was targeted by the police because they wasn't getting nowhere fast with their investigations.

ESLER:
Why would they target you, though?

SILCOTT:
Well, in them days they looked at me as a thorn in their side. As I was very prominently outspoken against certain of their tactics, how they used to police in Tottenham in general.

ESLER:
Were they right, I mean were you a thorn in their side?

SILCOTT:
I didn't see it that way if you're talking about the truth.

ESLER:
Do you think that most people in this country still think that you did it and got away with it?

SILCOTT:
I can't speak for what most people think, but certain tabloids propagate that I did it, so people will listen to the tabloids.

ESLER:
Do you think that you are perhaps the most hated person in Britain?

SILCOTT:
I wouldn't say that.

ESLER:
Some people do hate you though?

SILCOTT:
Well, I mean that's their opinion. If they are being fed false information about somebody, to me, the first thing of thought is when you have information you try to balance up the information. Since I've been in prison, it's only been one story being told. Now, how many people in England know what was the evidence against me, what convicted of murdering PC Keith Blakelock in the first place? Nobody knows nothing. Because it's never been put in the media.

ESLER:
But you can see why people would think this, because in 1979 you were acquitted of stabbing to death Lenny Macintosh. In 1986 you were convicted of the murder of Anthony Smith. In 1987 convicted of the murder of PC Keith Blakelock, which was later overturned. I mean three murder charges sounds like more than bad luck?

SILCOTT:
In the '70s the Lenny Macintosh, it has never been explained. I did have a fight but the person I had a fight with, he ran down the road. The reason why I was acquitted, Lenny Macintosh's blood-type was on somebody else's knife, which was not mine.

ESLER:
You've been in prison for 17 years for a murder you say you did not do?

SILCOTT:
That's correct.

ESLER:
Does that not make you feel bitter?

SILCOTT:
Well, I wouldn't say it makes me feel bitter, because if I felt bitter I think that hatred would have ate my soul, and I wouldn't be here today to continue my fight.

ESLER:
Do you have anything that you would like to say directly to the family of PC Keith Blakelock?

SILCOTT:
I can't really say anything, because PC Keith Blakelock, the case, the murder, the rioting, it didn't have anything to do with me. So I don't think I should comment, really, on it, because it has nothing totally to do with me. The only reason it's portrayed as me being involved is because the media do it. In the, subconsciously, some people think I've been in prison for PC Keith Blakelock. Because it's the way it's reported and it has got totally nothing to do with me. I way acquitted of PC Keith Blakelock's case because the evidence against me was fabricated.

ESLER:
Do you think you were in prison for PC Keith Blakelock, really? That that's why you were there for 17 years?

SILCOTT:
Yes, I do.

ESLER:
Because you were so notorious?

SILCOTT:
No, they made me notorious, I'm not notorious.

ESLER:
How important is it for you then to clear your name and the conviction for murder that you have?

SILCOTT:
Well, it's very important. Just to prove that certain institutions have been writing all of this rubbish about me all over the years, that they have been telling total lies.

ESLER:
Do you think that sections of the media are racist?

SILCOTT:
I know they are racist, I don't feel they are racist, I know that. I am still sort of portrayed as this big, black old guy, this big black man. I mean, for instance, I am only 6ft 2, if you look at the pictures in the newspapers I look 7ft tall.

ESLER:
You think you are still portrayed as a monster?

SILCOTT:
Oh, I am.

ESLER:
But do you think that is because of what you did, or do you think that's because of the colour of your skin?

SILCOTT:
Well, I think it's because of my colour of my skin.

ESLER:
Mr Silcott, thank you very much.

This transcript was produced from the teletext subtitles that are generated live for Newsnight. It has been checked against the programme as broadcast, however Newsnight can accept no responsibility for any factual inaccuracies. We will be happy to correct serious errors.