Kenneth James Noye (born 24 May 1947) is a British criminal who is serving a life sentence for the 1996 murder of Stephen Cameron in a road rage incident.
Noye was involved in laundering the proceeds of the Brink's-MAT robbery in 1983–4. While he was being investigated for his part in the robbery, he stabbed to death police officer John Fordham who was observing Noye from the grounds of his home. Noye was acquitted of murder on the grounds of self-defence, but was sentenced to 14 years in prison in 1986 for handling stolen gold. He was released from prison in 1994, having served eight years of his sentence.
Just over a year later, in 1996, Noye became involved in an altercation with 21-year-old motorist Stephen Cameron on the M25 motorway during what was described at the time as a road rage incident, but which has also been suggested to have been a dispute over a drug deal, Cameron being a small-time drug dealer who owed Noye money. However, it suited the purposes of both the prosecution and the defence not to mention this during the trial.
During the fight, Noye stabbed and killed Cameron with a knife. Noye immediately fled the country, sparking a massive police hunt. In 1998 he was tracked down in Spain, and Cameron's 17-year-old girlfriend Daniella Cable, who had witnessed the killing, was secretly flown out to positively identify him. Despite the obvious risks involved, she opted to testify against Noye, who at his trial in 2000 again pleaded self-defence. This time found guilty, he was convicted of murder and given a life sentence.
Cable was given a new identity under the witness protection programme, having been praised by police for her courage in giving evidence in the presence of Noye and his associates. Another eyewitness, Alan Decabral, declined protection and was shot dead in his car in Ashford, Kent, on 5 October 2000. However, police sources stated that he was himself involved in drug and gun-smuggling, and that his death was detrimental to Noye's forthcoming appeal, which would have concentrated on discrediting him.
Noye was a police informant for many years, and he was also a Freemason, a member of the Hammersmith Lodge in London.
The trial judge at Noye's trial for murder did not make any recommendation as to how long Noye should spend in prison, but the then Home Secretary David Blunkett set a minimum term before Noye may apply for parole of 16 years in 2002.
In 2001 and again in 2004, Noye appealed unsuccessfully against his conviction. He was represented in 2001 by Michael Mansfield QC. In 2007 he challenged the Criminal Cases Review Commission's decision not to refer his case to the Appeal Court as "legally flawed".
On Friday 7 March 2008, Noye took another step toward a fresh legal challenge, when Lord Justice Richards and Mrs Justice Swift granted permission for a one-day judicial review hearing, covering the CCRC's October 2006 decision not to send his case back to the court of appeal.
On Friday 25 June 2010, Noye failed in a bid to have the minimum term he must serve for murder reduced. Mr Justice Simon, a High Court judge sitting at Newcastle Crown Court, ordered that he must spend at least 16 years in jail before he can be considered for parole.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenneth_NoyeNoyes Tangled Web of Corruption
KENNETH Noye believed there was a price for everyone and he bought police officers and public officials to provide him with the protection he needed to mask his criminal activities.
KENNETH Noye believed there was a price for everyone and he bought police officers and public officials to provide him with the protection he needed to mask his criminal activities.
Detectives untangling his network of corruption now believe that at least one prominent MP was in his pay.
Such was the apprehension and nervousness created by the extent of Noye's corruption of the police that during the investigation into Stephen Cameron's murder officers were given around-the-clock protection from their colleagues. Others changed their telephone numbers. The Noye file on the case was restricted to less than a dozen senior officers.
With his lower-middle class background, Noye did not come from a traditional gangster family and he did not have the pathological hatred some felt for the police. From early in his criminal career he was prepared to do deals with officers, offering bribes and information on fellow villains.
Noye's big opportunity to fraternise with corrupt officers came when he was arrested by Scotland Yard in 1977 for receiving stolen goods.
The underworld was becoming wary of Noye. John 'Little Legs' Lloyd, a well known east London gangster, was warned about him by south London villains, others received similar messages.
In the late 70s Noye joined the Hammersmith Freeemasons' Lodge in west London. He was proposed and seconded by two police officers. He eventually rose to be the master of the lodge with the support of the membership of which the police made up a sizeable proportion. Other masons included dealers in gold and other precious metals. A little while later Noye was being helped out of an arrest by a detective who was a fellow mason.
One of Noye's police contacts was prepared to intervene on his behalf not just with fellow officers, but other law agencies. The detective approached a Customs officer investigating Noye in the early 80s and pressurised him to " lay off". The Customs man, at first surprised and then angry, warned that if the conversation went any further, he would have to officially report it.
When customs had arrested Noye, he was quick to offer information on fellow criminals engaged in cannabis smuggling. He also claimed that guns with major firepower were being imported into the country and offered to get a crate of Uzi sub machine guns. Customs passed the information on to the police but they refused to get involved on the curious grounds that they did not believe British criminals had access to automatic weapons.
But the police themselves were increasingly worried about Noye's connections. The Independent has seen documents which shows that Noye " has an association with an MP by the name of S---. They have been seen at Windsor Works ( a business owned by Noye) and it is alleged they have a business association."
The informer who providing the information, said the document, " further states that a Metropolitan Police officer was a frequent visitor to the Windsor Works and Noye took him abroad to the Continent."
The extent of police concern about Noye's connections was apparent when he became a prime suspect for the laundering of £26 million in bullion from the Brinks Mat robbery. While carrying out surveillance of Noye's home, an undercover officer, DC John Fordham, was stabbed to death by Noye.
Mr Fordham's partner, DC Neil Murphy, who was was present at the killing, told The Independent " There was enormous worry about leaks right from the start. I remember before the briefings took place the room was electronically swept for bugs - this, mind, a room in a top security police station. The name of a senior officer kept cropping up as someone being close to Noye.
"The other thing that stands out in my mind is how little we knew about Noye. This man was obviously a top level launderer, yet he had managed avoid much scrutiny. "
Noye was acquitted of DC Fordham's murder after pleading self-defence. But his contacts could not save him a 14 year sentence at a subsequent trial for laundering the bullion.
While in prison, Noye kept in touch with his police contacts and this paid off for his comeback in the crime business. While still a prisoner at a " halfway house", he became involved in a £50,000 deal to import cocaine from the US involving the Miami mafia.
The US Drug Enforcement Agency received intelligence about the plot, but a sting operation failed when Noye suddenly pulled out of the deal. He had been warned off by a corrupt detective on the National Crime Intelligence Service, John Donald, who had been corrupted by an associate of Noye's, Micky Lawson.
Donald eventually went to prison. Commander Roy Clark, one of his senior officers, said: " Donald was more than corrupt, he committed acts of treachery beyond belief. He sold operational secrets to those involved in organised crime and put the lives of police officers at risk."
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/noyes-tangled-web-of-corruption-721292.html
