The seventh person to be tried for the murder of PC Keith Blakelock during the Broadwater Farm Riot on 6 October 1985 was acquitted by a jury at the Old Bailey on Wednesday 9 April 2014 following a trial lasting over five weeks. Nicky Jacobs was only sixteen at the time of the riot and was charged with murder on 23 July 2013, having been on police bail for over three and a half years.

The investigation into PC Blakelock’s death has a long and troubled history with three men convicted of the murder in 1987 having their convictions quashed four years later at the Court of Appeal. This was followed by the prosecution for perverting the course of justice of the two most senior officers from that initial investigation.

The case against Mr Jacobs was predicated on the eye witness evidence of two men who, during the Nove Enquiry in 1992 to 1994, admitted their involvement in the officer’s murder but were given immunity from prosecution. One of these witnesses has a long history of drug addiction and the other had severe financial difficulties at the time he was interviewed by officers from Nove. Both received significant financial rewards for their assistance in the enquiry and even the Crown conceded that the methods of questioning used by the Police when interviewing these witnesses were unorthodox and even objectionable.

A third witness was identified in 2009 but he had significant alcohol and drug issues. He is also related to one of the other witnesses and appeared to have been a friend of the other. All three witnesses gave evidence against Nicky Jacobs but their accounts were so disparate and inconsistent that it appeared they had been at three different riots. Two admitted to having lied extensively before claiming they had told the truth in their final accounts.

Much was made by the Crown of a ‘rap poem’ written by Nicky Jacobs when he was just 19 years old. While the rap contained an account of the officer’s death it also made reference to what it was like growing up as a black person in Thatcher’s Britain of the 1980s. The prosecution overlooked the long tradition in black folklore of the writing of verse in which black working class heroes attack the instruments of law enforcement.

Ultimately the case was doomed, not least because of the absence of any forensic evidence linking Mr Jacobs to the murder. It is extremely rare for cold cases – and this prosecution began almost 28 years after the event – to succeed without such evidence.

The acquittal of Nicky Jacobs has attracted considerable comment throughout the media, with particular focus on the failure of the Crown Prosecution Service to secure a conviction in another high profile case. On Newsnight Jeremy Paxman did not mince his words when he referred to the case as being a complete waste of money. While Mr Jacobs has seen justice served, notwithstanding the swinging cuts to legal aid, it must also be recognized that the murder of PC Blakelock remains unsolved.

Nicky Jacobs’ defence was meticulously prepared by Tony Meisels of Lewis Nedas who was ably assisted by Carina Clare and Dan Jones. At the Central Criminal Court he was represented by the brilliant Courtenay Griffiths QC, supported by his diligent junior Michelle Nelson.

Please contact Tony Meisels if you require help with a serious criminal case including cold case reviews.