M25 road rage killer Kenneth Noye freed from jail
Written by News on 07/06/2019
M25 road rage killer Kenneth Noye has been freed from jail, the Ministry of Justice has confirmed.
Noye, now aged 71, stabbed Stephen Cameron to death in an attack on the motorway in Kent in 1996, in front of the victim’s 17-year-old fiancee.
He was sentenced to life in 2000 for the 21-year-old’s murder with a minimum term of 16 years.
Confirming Noye’s release from prison, an MoJ spokesman said: “We understand this will be a distressing decision for the family of Stephen Cameron and our thoughts remain with them.
“Like all life sentence prisoners released by the independent Parole Board, Kenneth Noye will be on licence for the remainder of his life, subject to strict conditions and faces a return to prison should he fail to comply.”
It is understood Noye was released from Standford Hill open prison in Kent on Thursday.
A Parole Board panel concluded last month that Noye was “suitable for return to the community” after his previous requests for release were turned down in 2015 and 2017.
Following the decision, Mr Cameron’s father Ken said: “I’m totally devastated. I hoped this day would never come. Life should mean life.”
The Parole Board report said that at the time of his offending Noye had shown a “readiness to carry and to use weapons” and held “unhelpful attitudes concerning the use of violence and did not always control extreme emotions”.
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However, witnesses described the “progress” the killer had made, citing his “good conduct” and “maturity”.
Following his release, Noye will have to abide by licence conditions including regular meetings with a probation officer, restrictions on overseas travel, being subject to exclusion zones and having to live in supervised accommodation.
He faces being recalled to prison if he fails to comply with his licence conditions and shows that his risk is increasing.
Noye was moved to Standford Hill open prison in 2017 and had reportedly been allowed to visit home without an escort and take part in community visits since April last year.
After killing Mr Cameron, Noye fled to Spain but was tracked down to a villa in Andalucia and extradited in 1998.
At his trial he admitted wielding the knife, but claimed he had acted in self-defence in a fight with Mr Cameron.
The jury found him guilty of murder and he later lost appeals against his conviction in 2001 and 2011.
Noye had previously been jailed for handling bullion stolen in the infamous 1983 Brink’s-Mat warehouse heist at Heathrow Airport.
He was jailed for 14 years and fined £500,000 plus £200,000 costs following an Old Bailey trial in 1986, before being released two years before the M25 attack.
Noye also knifed a police officer to death at his home in Kent in 1985, but was cleared of murder or manslaughter on the grounds of self-defence.
Detective Constable John Fordham was stabbed 10 times while investigating Noye’s links to the airport robbery.
(c) Sky News 2019: M25 road rage killer Kenneth Noye freed from jail
