Silcott detectives cleared
01 September 1994
The policeman who led the inquiry into the death of PC Keith Blakelock in the Broadwater Farm uprising in 1985, has been cleared of fabricating the evidence against Winston Silcott that led to his conviction. Detective Chief Superintendent Graham Melvin, along with Detective Inspector Maxwell Dingle, were found not guilty at the Old Bailey, in July, of charges involving conspiracy to pervert the course of justice and perjury.
Silcott's conviction was overturned on appeal during 1991 when ESDA testing showed that interviews with him had been fabricated. Two other men, Engin Raghip and Mark Braithwaite, were also cleared of any involvement in Blakelock's murder, after serving four years in prison. Silcott has received an interim payment of £10,000 as compensation for his false imprisonment.
Guardian 27.7.94.