Six men were later tried on a variety of charges arising out of the hold One of these, Kevin Brown, was acquitted. The other five were found guilty. William Tobin was sentenced to 16 years.
Mark Hogg and Stephen Jackson were sentenced to 12 vears. kon Cook and Jimmi Williams were also given 16 year terms.
• The William Tobin story At the time of his arrest William 'Billy' Tobin was a villain at odds with the police. In particular he was CaL Does with Detective Superintendent basseur or kolnernyune ponce.
Tobin suspected Bassett of trying frame him previous occasion; Bassett suspected Tobin of 'nobbling' the lury when these charges were brought to court. It Tobin's contention that Bassett was determined to 'nail' him, once and for all.
Towards the end of last year, savsne was proached by villain. Turaculs referred to as 'Mr X' will be which was what ne was called in the subsequent court case Tobin claims Mr X told him he was going to bribe Bassett with £5,000 to drop charges Mr X was facing. Tobin's story is that Mr X asked Tobin to accompany him, and witness the hand over of the money, from a discreet distance.
Instead, Mr X's 'meeting' with Bassett turned out to he an armed robbery. Tobin Dussesumer a canca were was arrested claims, Was photograph the alleged bribe.
3: The Hogg and Jackson Story Mark Hogg and Jackson are brothers-in-law. In late November 1980 they approached in a pub by Mr X. They had The following met him again. He asked them if they were interested in making money. They told Hogg and Jackson police were in on the crime.
It was only on the morning of the robbery that and Hogg were told that guns, will blanks, woula be usca in the hold-up. They weren't happy about this, but by now they were in too deep to try and get out.
Hogg, who is left-handed. put the gun in his top left-hand pocket, and buttoned his coat over it, so that he was in no position to use the gun.
Jackson and Hogg were arrested at the scene of the crime. hev had thought the plan was that the police would them to escape. on the head with a truncheon during the attempted robbery, by a policeman who had not been put in the picture.
He carried on running and was allowed to get away. Mr X was brought Jackson and Hogg claim that he had set them up.
4: The Ron Cook story Ron Cook had gone to David Goff who ran an iceapcream van, just school near the robbery the morning the crime took place.
In the aftermath of the robbery both Goff and Cook were by the arrested police. police checked their and found that. Cook previous convictions, but Goff had not.
Cott was released.
Cook was charged. He tains he had nothing to do with the robbery.
was in 5: The Jimmy Williams Story which, he going On the day of the attempted robbery Jimmy Williams and his wife, Carol, planned to go shopping. rangements with another Stephen ple to do so, make it. On the were shops the Williams' down 11Cl him had broken.
week they nearby nardware story to Inquire where he could buy a battery. In the shop he bought a were. Mr purchase for which he has prothe duced a receipt.
Williams Inen wife in a pub where they chatted to the publican Williams left to find a garage.
Eventually, after failing to so, he set out to return to the pub.
rested by two policemen who claimed they had Williams getting out of a Kenning van the robbery.
to this story in court, four other not seen Williams allow van. The man who Mr & was hit was supposedly laentitied as had a moustache. Williams had police moustache was a false one.
after he was arrested that Carol Williams knew trial. was in prison.
off by 6: The trial There were two triais that led to the conviction of four of the outside the defendents.
tually convicted at a third.) The first was stopped by the judge when a juror became ill early on in the case.
The records in very dubious circumstances';
had "Une member or tne jury was the son of the nightwatchman at the but business partner main- *Towards the end of the trial, one juror had a heart attack and was released from the case.
was released on the been taken ill.
They had made arCOur who couldn't way to the unknown procedure. car broke The battery's terminal Jimmy Williams went into a witness.
Yet joined his At 12.40 do On his way there he was arjust seen - the one involved in The policemen later stuck although cops said they had ho willams claim the It was not until five days her husband She was tipped an anyonmous phone (Tobin was evenThe second one proceeded premises of Mr X's As the jury was retiring to consider its verdict. another into!
grounds who they that one of her relatives had Yet despite having only ten memoers now leit on tne jury: majority verdicts were allowed unusual, though the van. *Most significantly Mr X did not appear in court at all, either as a defendant or a prosecution The police claimed in court that he was an informer rather than a provocateur, and that Tobin was the ring leader.
Hogg associate editor refused to comment on the legality of such photographs justice for four men now serving long prison sentences testified in court that Mr X had approached them — not Tobin, had *In court, the police continualSome police placed Mr X in the Kenning van and Tobin in the crane. Others said Tobin was in *The police videoed the robbery; the only man who could be clearly identified was Tobin.
7: The Consequence Four people are serving a total of 56 years in prison for a crime they say they had nothing to do Police provocateur, Mr X poses with guns in hand for his confessions in the Sun. The with or had been duped into by Mr received £5,000 reward money trom Scotland Yard's fund and £3,000 from the security firm. He had been hoping for £80,000.
So to make more money, Mr X tried to sell his story. The Daily Mirror refused and September then September the Sun published his story.
It included photographs of him with a shotgun and pistol. The Sun retused to tell Socialis Challenge how much they paid Mr X.
Socialist Challenge 5 November 1981 Page 7