Clenched fists and champagne as 8 cleared of riot night killing that led to father’s plea for peace
EIGHT men on trial for murdering three others during rioting last summer walked free from court to whoops and cheers yesterday – after jurors were told the detective in charge of the investigation ‘lied’ on oath. The defendants were sprayed with champagne as they emerged from Birmingham Crown Court after a jury took four hours to dismiss the three murder charges against each man.
Following the verdict, judge Mr Justice Flaux appealed for calm on the streets as police said extra officers would be deployed at the first sign of any trouble.
His sentiments were echoed by Tariq Jahan, the father of one of the victims, who was credited with preventing a race war on the streets of Winson Green last August.
Speaking outside court yesterday, Mr Jahan, 47, urged people to ‘accept the outcome’ of the trial and appealed for ‘peace and calm in our community’.
His son, Haroon Jahan, 21, and friends Shazad Ali, 30 and Abdul Musavir, 31, who were brothers, were seen on CCTV being catapulted almost ten feet in the air after being hit by one of three cars involved in what the prosecution described as a ‘modern-day chariot charge’.
The prosecution claimed the eight defendants – all in the cars involved – were guilty of a ‘joint enterprise’.
They said the lead car, an Audi, had worked to lure a crowd of Asian men which included the victims on to the road, where they were then hit by one of the two following vehi-
‘Calm must be maintained’
cles. But the defendants claimed the collision had been an accident involving no planning and many of them, including Ian Beckford, the driver of the Mazda which hit the men – knew the victims.
Following the conclusion of the 12-week trial, it can be revealed that the officer in charge of the police investigation is under investigation himself for potentially jeopardising the prosecution by lying in the witness box.
Detective Chief Inspector Anthony Tagg could face a charge of perjury after Mr Justice Flaux ruled he had ‘invented’ an account given on oath about why defence barristers had not been told of offers of immunity to eyewitnesses until mid-way through the trial.
The revelation, after the witnesses had given evidence, prompted the judge to temporarily halt proceedings to ask DCI Tagg to explain the mistake – only for him to claim prosecutors had been told of the issue at the start of the case. The defence argued the ‘extensive’ lies rendered a fair trial impossible.
Barrister Michael Turner said DCI Tagg’s actions amounted to perjury, which carries a maximum sentence of ten years’ imprisonment.
In his submissions to the judge, Mr Turner said of DCI Tagg: ‘He came to court and on any view lied pretty extensively about what he had said to counsel.’
Defence barristers urged the judge to throw out the case, an application he dismissed.
But he did tell jurors that much of the evidence of the eyewitnesses in question about the defendant’s behaviour in the cars that night could be considered unreliable.
Yesterday, West Midlands Police refused to accept that the blunder was to blame for the failure to secure a single conviction and said the judge could have halted proceedings if he felt DCI Tagg had jeopardised the trial.
The case has been referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission, which has now launched an investigation into the detective’s conduct. DCI Tagg has
‘Raised concerns about evidence’
not been suspended. Defendants Ryan Goodwin, 21, Shaun Flynn, 26, Juan Ruiz-Gaviria, 31, Joshua Donald, 27, Everton Graham, 30, Adam King, 24, Ian Beckford, 30, and Aaron Parkins, 18, all from the Birmingham area, hugged and shook hands in the dock as the verdicts were returned.
Moments later, the judge urged the people of Birmingham, including relatives in the public gallery, to respect the jury’s findings that the deaths were a ‘terrible accident’.
He said the deaths occurred at a time of unprecedented civil disorder. ‘It is important that however strong feelings are within the community in Winson Green and surrounding areas, that calm is maintained and that these verdicts are respected,’ he added.
He paid tribute to the ‘wonderful’ work of Mr Jahan, who was in court as the verdicts were announced.
Harry Ireland, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said prosecutors had been confident the evidence collected offered a realistic chance of conviction.
An IPCC spokesman said: ‘ Evidence was heard during the trial suggesting that certain witnesses may have been promised immunity from prosecution by the police in return for them giving evidence against the defendants.
‘The judge in a statement to the court has since raised concerns about the evidence given to him by a DCI during this questioning, this was the senior investigating officer in the murder case.’
Last night, there was a noticeable police presence around Winson Green. Evadne Gayle, a local shop owner, said: ‘I believe tensions are going to be high. Before the funeral thousands of people turned out – they won’t be happy.’
But a spokesman for Birmingham Central Mosque, who said he was a relative of one of those killed, said there were no suggestions violence could erupt.