Met relaunch inquiry into Pc Blakelock murder

The Metropolitan Police has launched a fresh investigation into the murder of Pc Keith Blakelock who was hacked to death during the Broadwater Farm riots in London in 1985.

The Met's Specialist Crime Directorate said that they would also reopen investigations into the attempted murder of Pc Richard Coombes.

Both the Blakelock and Coombes cases have been the subject of a lengthy review process since January 2000. Some new lines of enquiry were identified through the review, and these will form the basis of the fresh investigation, a police spokesperson said.

Winston Silcott was convicted of the murder of Pc Blakelock but he successfully appealed against his conviction in 1991. However, Mr Silcott was found guilty of murdering another man at a party in east London in 1984 and sentenced to 17 years. He was released from prison two months ago.

Assistant Commissioner Tarique Ghaffur, Head of the Specialist Crime Directorate, said: “This is a tightly-focused inquiry. The review took us in a number of directions, but there are some specific leads which we are now looking at.

“I must stress that the investigation is wholly focused on the murder of Keith Blakelock and attempted murder of Richard Coombes and not on any other incidents which occurred during the Broadwater Farm disturbances.

“We accept that the decision to launch this fresh investigation will be difficult for some sections of the community."

The Met said that it had consulted with a wide range of people in reaching this decision to re-open the case.

"We are grateful for the input we have received, particularly from Keith’s family, the local community and the wider black community, whose views have greatly shaped how we will approach this new inquiry," Mr Ghaffur added.

“This was a brutal murder of an unarmed police officer who was protecting the local community. This new inquiry is a mark of our commitment to protect our police officers and the people they serve and bring to justice those who seek to harm them.”

Pc Blakelock, who was posthumously awarded the Queen's Medal for Bravery, was killed during disturbances on the Broadwater Farm Estate in October 1985.

(gmcg)