Fury of victim’s dad as road rage killer Noye set for open jail
THE father of the young man murdered by Kenneth Noye last night said the decision to move the killer to an open prison – and one step closer to freedom – was a ‘a real kick in the teeth’.
Noye was jailed for life in 2000 for the murder of 21-year-old Stephen Cameron in a road rage attack four years earlier.
The gangster used a 9in knife he kept in his car to stab Mr Cameron on a slip road of the M25 near Swanley in Kent in front of the victim’s horrified fiancée, Danielle Cable.
Now 70, Noye was recommended for release by the Parole Board after 17 years behind bars – a decision which was rubber stamped by Justice Secretary, David Lidington.
If he behaves himself, Noye – one of Britain’s most notorious killers – could be out on the streets in just two years’ time. Once he is in open conditions, a move which is expected to happen within weeks, he will be eligible for day release and work placements in an attempt to reintegrate him into society.
Last night Stephen’s father Ken Cameron, 71, warned Noye will ‘disappear’ from an open jail and should be behind bars ‘for the rest of his days’.
‘I’m furious,’ he said. ‘Life should mean life. It’s a real kick in the teeth. I feel totally let down by the Government over this.
‘We are the victims in this and we are having to serve as life sentence of our own. He has completely pulled the wool over everyone’s eyes. He has made out he is a model prisoner all these years but if he is moved to an open jail he will disappear.
‘He’s got the connections and know how. Before you know it he’ll be off and sitting on a sun lounger sipping a cold beer abroad somewhere.’
Mr Cameron’s wife Toni died after a short illness in April last year. He said she would have been ‘heartbroken’, adding: ‘She always said she only ever wanted Noye to come out of jail in a wooden box. We never wanted revenge – only justice for Stephen. He never got a chance at life. He was only 21 when he was murdered by Noye.
‘Noye’s pride got the better of him that day. He did not need to go back and get that knife. He could’ve just got in his car and driven off. But he didn’t. He got that knife and stabbed Stephen.
‘And what about poor Danielle Cable? She was Stephen’s fiancée. She saw Stephen die. I’d dread to think how she’s feeling.’
Miss Cable’s evidence helped to convict Noye of Mr Cameron’s murder but she was forced into witness protection out of fear of a revenge attack.
Now married with a daughter, she has only been able to see her parents twice a year since being given a new identity.
Her mother, Mandy, 60, from Orpington, Kent, said last night: ‘ We know that in this country life doesn’t mean life, so I knew at some point he was going to get out. As long as my daughter’s safe, that’s all that matters to me.’
She warned Noye ‘ the finger would be pointed straight at him’ if anything were to happen to her daughter on his release.
Yesterday’s announcement follows a legal battle by Noye to move into a low security prison.
The Parole Board recommended he be moved to an open jail in September 2015, but this was blocked by then-justice secretary Michael Gove.
A High Court hearing earlier this year was told that a report into Noye pointed to his ‘criminal versatility... superficial charm, grandiose sense of self, lack of remorse, manipulative behaviour, failure to accept responsibility and poor behaviour controls’.
Mr Gove pointed to Noye’s ‘extreme and unpredictable’ use of violence, anti-social behaviour and risk of absconding.
But earlier this year Noye won the High Court challenge after his lawyers argued it was ‘unlawful and irrational’.
In 1985, he stabbed to death Detective Constable John Fordham, in the grounds of Kent mansion. He was cleared of murder. The next year he was
‘It’s a real kick in the teeth’ ‘Thorough risk assessment’
jailed for 14 years for handling gold bullion stolen in the infamous 1983 Brink’s-Mat robbery. Twice refused parole, he was freed in 1994.
After the M25 attack, Noye fled, arranged for the Land Rover he was driving to be disposed of, and flew to Spain where he lived under a false name until his arrest in 1998.
Justice officials said Noye has been well behaved, accepts his guilt and completed programmes in jail. It left Mr Lidington with no choice but to approve his move to open conditions, sources said.
A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: ‘Public protection is our top priority and transfers to open conditions are made after a thorough, expert risk assessment carried out by the independent Parole Board.’