‘Road rage killer’ Noye tastes freedom
KENNETH NOYE, one of Britain’s most notorious gangsters, tasted freedom for the first time in 20 years yesterday after being taken to hospital by his girlfriend without any prison supervision.
Noye was pictured leaving Standford Hill open prison on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent at just after 9am yesterday.
He was collected by his partner in a 4x4 and driven to a local NHS hospital for a minor procedure before being taken back to jail.
The Ministry of Justice confirmed the scheduled visit was unsupervised and that Noye did not wear an electronic tag. Noye, now aged 70, was convicted in April 2000 and ordered to serve a minimum 16 years for stabbing to death Stephen Cameron in a roadrage attack on the M25 in Kent in 1996.
At the time he committed the murder, Noye was out on licence after serving eight years in prison for his part in the £26million Brink’s-mat gold bullion robbery at Heathrow. He had previously been acquitted in 1985 of the murder of John Fordham, an undercover detective who was part of a team investigating the heist. Noye stabbed Fordham to death in the grounds of his home, but claimed he thought he was an intruder.
Last summer, the Parole Board recommended Noye’s transfer to an open prison, paving the way for his unsupervised hospital visit yesterday.
After murdering Cameron in a road rage incident on an M25 interchange in Kent, Noye went on the run but was caught in Spain after Danielle Cable, Cameron’s girlfriend, was flown out by police and identified him.
Ken Cameron, the victim’s father, spoke last year of his disgust that Noye was recommended for open prison. “I am totally gutted. It’s devastating,” he said, “I have only wanted justice for Stephen. And I do not think that man deserves to be on the streets. He should die in prison, and I hope he does.”
Yesterday Mr Cameron was too upset to comment.
A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: “Prisoners in open conditions are occasionally permitted a short period of unescorted leave for medical appointments, subject to stringent risk assessments.”