Man held in PC Blakelock inquiry is freed on bail

A MAN arrested on suspicion of murdering PC Keith Blakelock 25 years ago was re-released on police bail yesterday.

PC Blakelock was hacked to death during the Broadwater Farm riots in Tottenham, north London, in October 1985.

The 41-year-old man, who was originally from the Tottenham area, was arrested in February and answered bail earlier yesterday.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said the man, who was 15 when the riots took place, has been told to report back to police again in November.

It is believed he may be serving a sentence at Highpoint Prison, near Haverhill, in Suffolk, but police refused to confirm or deny this.

Two other men, aged 46 and 52, who were arrested at separate north London addresses in May, have also been questioned on suspicion of murder.

The pair, who lived in Tottenham in 1985, were released on bail until September.

PC Blakelock, a father of three, was murdered by a machete-wielding gang during clashes with police on the Broadwater Farm estate.

Six people were originally charged with his murder, including Winston Silcott, Mark Braithwaite and Engin Raghip.

The three men were convicted of the killing in 1987, but were cleared on appeal four years later.

Three youths were also charged with murder but did not face trial after a judge ruled that their questioning was inadmissible.

One of them was Yardie gang leader Mark Lambie, who was jailed for kidnap and torture in 2002 after terrorising the Broadwater Farm estate.

A fresh inquiry into the murder of PC Blakelock was launched in December 2003, after a review identified new lines of inquiry that could be pursued.

The murder case was never resolved despite an Old Bailey trial and the work of several teams of detectives.

PC Blakelock and his colleague PC Richard Coombes were attacked as they tried to protect firefighters when violence spiralled on the estate.