Kenneth James Noye (born 24 May 1947) is a British criminal who was convicted of the 1996 murder of Stephen Cameron.
Noye was involved in laundering the proceeds of the Brink's-MAT robbery in 1983–4. While he was being investigated for his part in the robbery, he stabbed to death police officer John Fordham who was observing Noye from the grounds of his home. Noye was acquitted of murder on the grounds of self-defence, but was sentenced to 14 years in prison in 1986 for handling stolen gold. He was released from prison in 1994, having served 8 years of his sentence.
Just over a year later, in 1996, Noye became involved in an altercation with 21-year-old motorist Stephen Cameron on the M25 motorway during what was described at the time as a road rage incident, but which has also been suggested to have been a dispute over a drug deal, Cameron being a small-time drug dealer who owed Noye money. However, it suited the purposes of both the prosecution and the defence not to mention this during the trial.[1] [2] . During the fight, Noye stabbed and killed Cameron with a knife. Noye immediately fled the country, sparking a massive police hunt. In 1998 he was tracked down in Spain, and Cameron's 17-year-old girlfriend Daniella Cable, who had witnessed the killing, was secretly flown out to positively identify him. Despite the obvious risks involved, she opted to testify against Noye, who at his trial in 2000 again pleaded self-defence. This time found guilty, he was convicted of murder and given a life sentence.
Cable was given a new identity under the witness protection programme, having been praised by police for her courage in giving evidence in the presence of Noye and his associates. Another eyewitness, Alan Decabral, declined protection and was shot dead in his car in Ashford, Kent, on 5 October 2000. However, police sources stated that he was himself involved in drug and gun-smuggling, and that his death was detrimental to Noye's forthcoming appeal, which would have concentrated on discrediting him.[3]
Noye was a police informant for many years,[4] and he was also a freemason, a member of the Hammersmith Lodge in London.[5]
The trial judge at Noye's trial for murder did not make any recommendation as to how long Noye should spend in prison, but the then Home Secretary David Blunkett set a minimum term before Noye may apply for parole of 16 years in 2002.
In 2001 and again in 2004, Noye appealed unsuccessfully against his conviction. He was represented in 2001 by Michael Mansfield QC.[6] In 2007 he challenged the Criminal Cases Review Commission's decision not to refer his case to the Appeal Court as "legally flawed".
On Friday 7 March 2008, Noye took another step toward a fresh legal challenge, when Lord Justice Richards and Mrs Justice Swift granted permission for a one-day judicial review hearing, covering the CCRC's October 2006 decision not to send his case back to the court of appeal.[7]
On Friday 25 June 2010, Noye failed in a bid to have the minimum term he must serve for murder reduced. Mr Justice Simon, a High Court judge sitting at Newcastle Crown Court, ordered that he must spend at least 16 years in jail before he can be considered for parole.
On 14 October 2010, Noye was granted a fresh appeal against his conviction for Stephen Cameron's murder. This appeal was rejected on 22 March 2011.[8]