Their decision, reported in the Daily Mail, comes after Silcott accepted an out-of-court payment of £50,000 from the Metropolitan Police for false imprisonment and malicious prosecution.

The payment prompted outrage from PC Blakelock's widow.

Silcott is serving a life sentence for murdering boxer Anthony Smith, though he is now eligible for parole.

Keith Blakelock: Murdered in October 1985

PC Blakelock was hacked to death on Broadwater Farm estate in Tottenham, north London, in 1985.

In 1987, Winston Silcott, Mark Braithwaite and Engin Raghip were convicted of his murder. But in 1991 all three were cleared by the Court of Appeal.

Although Silcott's murder conviction was overturned, the family can pursue him for damages in the civil courts, where the burden of proof is less than in criminal courts.

Mark Blakelock told the paper: "We cannot face another 14 years without knowing who was responsible for our father's murder. Someone has to be made accountable.

Pc Blakelock's widow, Elizabeth, has received no compensation

"We will do whatever it takes to make sure that happens, not just to achieve justice for dad but for the sake of all those brave policemen who have been left scarred for life, mentally and physically, by what happened that night."

His brother Kevin, 25, is reported as saying: "It has gone through the criminal courts and nothing has happened. Hopefully, we can progress it ourselves through the civil courts and get a result."

The Blakelock family are hoping that fresh evidence uncovered during a reinvestigation of the Broadwater Farm murder will form the basis of their civil suit.