Mystery behind gangland attack

The murder of six members of the Doyle family shocked the nation.

Their deaths were linked to the vicious turf war for ice cream vans that worked across the east end of Glasgow.

The vans made huge profits as there were no 24-hour supermarkets at the time and many people relied on them for everyday groceries.

But they became a magnet for criminals. Thieves used them to sell stolen goods.

Many of the vans then started to sell drugs. A battle broke out against gangsters who tried to seize control of the ice cream van routes. Andrew Doyle, 18, had been driving a van for a family firm and refused to be intimidated into giving up his route in Garthamlock. In February 1984 gunshots were fired through his windscreen.

At about 2am on April 16, petrol was poured outside his fam family’s top-floor flat in Ruc Ruchazie and set alight.

Ch Christine Doyle

Halle Halleron, 25, her

18- 18-mmonth-old son Mark, Jam James Doyle Sr, 53, and his sonss James Jr, 23, Andrew, 18, and Anthony, 14, werew killed in the fire.

PolicePo arrested six peoplepeop but only Thomas “TC” Campbell and Joe SteeleStee were convicted of the murders.m Both claimedclaim to be innocent.

SteeleSte staged several protestprote escapes, once even gluing himself to the gatesg of Buckingham Palace, while Campbell staged a hunger strike.

They were dramatically freed in 2004 after Appeal Court judges ruled that their convictions were a miscarriage of justice.

A key witness, who had claimed in court to have heard Campbell, Steele and others discussing setting the flat on fire, admitted he had made the story up.

Steele later said crimelord Tam “The Licensee” McGraw had ordered the attack.

FREED Steele and Campbell