In December last year the Court of Appeal overturned the convictions of Winston Trew, Sterling Christie, George Griffiths, whom along with Constantine “Omar” Boucher were known as the “Oval 4.” The four spent eight months in prison after being found guilty of assaulting police officers and attempted theft at Oval underground station in 1972. (1)
Although the trial exposed what could euphemistically be termed glaring inconsistencies in police accounts, all four were convicted amid a created “moral panic” about so-called “mugging,” although no legal category for it exists. (2)
Another aspect of the case was the state’s incipient war against the Black liberation movement in the UK. In this regard the ‘Oval 4’ might more correctly be called the Fasimba 4, due to them all being members of that organisation. Fasimba was the youth wing of SELPO (South East London Parents Organisation) an organization founded by Jamaican Garveyites initially in response to the ESN (“Educationally Sub-Normal”) controversy famously articulated by Bernard Coard in his 1971 pamphlet How the West Indian Child Is Made Educationally Subnormal in the British School System: The Scandal of the Black Child in Schools in Britain. (3) In fact, the four were set upon by the police whilst travelling home from Black Liberation Front (BLF) meeting to discuss responses to the Special Branch arrest of its prominent members, Tony Soares. (4)
Additional context can be gleaned from the ‘Mangrove Nine’ case in 1970. Here, nine activists, Frank Crichlow; Darcus Howe, Althea Jones-Lecointe, head of the BBP; Barbara Beese, Rupert Boyce; Rhodan Gordon; Anthony Innis; Rothwell Kentish; and Godfrey Millett were arrested at a police raid of Crichlow’s Mangove restaurant in Notting Hill. The pretext for the raid was that the police considered the Mangrove as a drugs den although there never were any there. The case against the nine was initially dismissed because the statements of twelve officers were ruled to be inadmissible because they equated black radicalism with criminal intent. However, the Director of Public Prosecutions Sir Norman Skelhorn took the extraordinary step of reinstating the charges and the defendants were rearrested. After a fifty-five-day trial the jury acquitted all nine, some of whom defended themselves. Another significant aspect of the trial was it was the first a British judge, in this case Edward Clarke acknowledged racial discrimination and wrongdoing by the London police. (5)
History has shown how remarkable the Mangrove Nine verdict was because since then British juries have demonstrated a profound reluctance to rule against the police even in the face of contradictory video evidence as the case of Sean Rigg or a logic defying yarn that swung the Mark Duggan case in their favour. (6)
By the time the Fasimba Four case came to trial the state had managed to iron out any anomalies like those that occurred with the Mangrove Nine case. This was in spite of the fact that the campaign posters four had clearly been assaulted by the police while in custody. The threat more physical reprisals precipitated the signing of fabricated confessions. Yet even in this precarious situation Winston Trew had the presence of mind to ‘assist’ the police in their criminal enterprise by ‘confessing’ to crimes he could later prove he could not have committed – as they all coincided with him signing-on at what then called the Labour Exchange – a cast iron alibi. On that basis, the case might have reasonably been dismissed but the jugde insisted on pressing ahead. (7)
The four faced seventeen charges: 1 to 7 related to the signed confessions by all four but especially by Winston Trew and Sterling Christie; 8 and 9 were for attempted theft against all four; 10 to 16 were the assault charges against all four and count 17 was against Christie alone for the theft of a woman police officer’s handbag. (8)
When the verdicts came in there was a unamimous not guilty verdict for counts 1 to 7 but majority (ten to two) guilty verdict for counts 8 to 17. As Winston Trew reflected:
“We were found guilty of all the offences where the police were the only witnesses to these events even though they were part of the same ‘confession-statement’ that we were found not guilty of all the charges of actual theft and robbery arising from them, to which the police were not witnesses. This contradiction would later form one of the grounds for our Appeal.” (9)
Winston Trew, Sterling Christie and Omar Boucher were sentenced to two years in prison while the youngest of the four George Griffiths was given two years borstal training. The four appealed against the convictions before Lord Justice James and Justices Sebag-Shaw and Phillips on 30th July 1973. The two- year sentences were quashed, allowing them to be released the next day with the admonishment from Justice James that court’s decision to release them should not be interpreted “as a sign of weakness.” This statement made it clear to observers that the Appeal court were well aware of the political nature of the case. (10)
This outcome threw the spotlight back on to the chief protagonist Det Sgt Derek Ridgewell who orchestrated the case against the four. Indeed, the very night of the Appeal, the BBC’s Nationwide programme aired an edition called ‘Cause For Concern’ dealing with cases dealt with Ridgewell and his “anti-mugging squad.” It examined cases sixteen Afrikans including the “Waterloo Four,” the “Stockwell Six” and the “Tottenham Court Road Two.” (11) Ridgewell himself was a veteran of the Rhodesian police. Even though the named was changed to Zimbabwe at independence in April 1980, Rhodesia continues to loom large in the imaginings of white supremacists today, including Charleston Church mass murderer Dylan Roof. (12)
Ridgewell’s practice, which led to many convictions, was to confront young black men at underground stations, accuse them of theft and then attribute incriminating remarks to them. If they resisted arrest, they were also accused of assaulting the police. (13) As indicated above there was public disquiet about his methods in 1973 but in a response that could almost be described as Catholic, “they did nothing except move him a different unit, where he continued to offend.” (14) His relentless malfeasance ultimately led him to being sent to prison in 1980 where he died two years later of a heart attack. (15)
But neither the Appeal decision or Ridgewell’s death equated to justice. Winston Trew recalled his ordeal:
“It shattered me. My marriage broke up. I lost confidence and I felt incredibly lonely. Ridgewell threw a hand grenade into my life and shattered it but I am not a person who gives up easily. Over the years I managed to rebuild my life and restore my confidence.” (16)
Piecing his life back together he took a degree in social sciences at the North East London Polytechnic (now the University of East London) and went into youth work for a number of years before joining South Bank University as a lecturer in social sciences from 1987 to 2000. He suffered a stroke in 2003 and, as part of his recovery, he researched his case and Ridgewell again, using the Freedom of Information Act and found out that Ridgewell had died in prison. His book on the case, Black For A Cause… Not Just Because.. The case of the ‘Oval4’ and the story of Black Power in 1970s Britain, was published in 2010. (17) Such was the extent of his research on Ridgewell, the book even the helped the Appeal of another of his victims, Stephen Simmons who convicted in 1976. The conviction was quashed in January 2018. (18)
In light of the Simmons outcome an application was made to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC). The CCRC chair Helen Pitcher acknowledged that was a complex case to investigate: “The age of the case meant that almost all of the information that we usually have to go on – such as police material and prosecution and court files – had long ago been destroyed so we had to go to great lengths to piece things together.” (19)
So when the case was finally referred to the Court Of Appeal, the Lord Chief Justice Lord Burnett who was sitting with Mrs Justice McGowan and Sir Roderick Evans said it was: “Clear that these convictions are unsafe. We would wish only to note our regret that it has taken so long for this injustice to be remedied.” Sterling Christie’s lawyer Steven Bird added: “It is a travesty that these men have waited 47 years for exoneration for crimes that they did not commit. Justice has now finally been done.” Omar Boucher, who initially coulddn’t be traced had his conviction referred to the Court Of Appeal in January 2020. (20)
As noted above, Winston Trew outlined the case in detail in Black For A Cause, but the book is more than that. He provides a comprehensive outline of the programme of SELPO and the Fasimba within the context of the Black Power Movement in the UK as well as a meditation on “the ethics of Black Resistance.” In the foreword, renowned scholar Professor Cecil Gutzmore notes:
“Far too few genuinely moving, informative and politically engaged books of autobiographical narrative analysis have emerged from the post-Windrush communities in Britain; this narrative stands as one of the first, moving our story on from struggling for civic representation to struggling now against over-representation… He recounts and analyses how own schooling in south London where he learnt survival skills against pupil and teacher racism, to his coming to political and cultural consciousness there in the early 1970s ‘black power’ era – which he insists had its own dynamic: rather than being a copy/echo of the African-American situation; his informative and skilful weaving of contemporary African-Diaspora musics (Jamaican and Black American) into his account; his involvement in the political formation the South East London Parents Organisation and its offshoot the FASIMBAS in which he learnt some useful martial arts – organisations about which he offers the first substantive and insider-based narrative.” (21)
The intervening forty-seven years have only underscored the fact that justice continues to elude Afrikans in the UK. Martin Luther King Jr mused that “justice too long delayed is justice denied.” (22) Yet the case of the Fasimba Four is one of resilience and unshakeable faith in the principle of Ma’at. Speaking outside the Royal Courts of Justice, Bro. Winston urged anyone else who might have been wrongfully convicted as a result of Ridgewell’s misconduct to challenge their convictions, saying: “They should come forward and contact the CCRC.” he added: “If you are innocent, don’t give up.” Bro. Sterling commented: “I wish to thank everyone who supported us over the years in trying to right this miscarriage of justice, those who attended meetings, raised funds and distributed leaflets from various organisations. I would also like to thank my family and friends who have always supported us and known the truth about these convictions” (23)
The case also re-affirms existence of corruption in the police force. Defenders may try and use the ‘one bad apple’ defence in the case of Ridgewell and perhaps they can throw him under the bus now he’s dead and gone. It may even be the case that his approach was driven by his Rhodesian background but it was an approach that received full approbation from his colleagues, assuming the whole programme wasn’t directed from above.
Miscarriages of justice do not happen in a vacuum but when they come light the (real) wrongdoers are rarely called to account. Most reports on the “Oval 4” have not mentioned the other officers involved in the corrupt enterprise and whether they will be pursued. It certainly was not the case, for example, for the ‘Tottenham Three’ officers (24) and definitely not the herd of officers that framed the Cardiff Three. (25) The Mangrove Nine case in 1970 brought police racial discrimination and wrongdoing into the public domain, albeit couched in a liberal dose of both-sidesism, yet almost fifty years on they largely act with impunity. (26) Neverthless, as news emerges of Scotsman Gary Webb’s £100,000 pay-out for a night in a police cell and three nights in prison for a crime police knew he was not guilty of, it will be interesting to see how this matter is dealt with for the “Oval 4.” (27)
We do have to give serious consideration to the notion that we are subject to ignominy because have yet to organise as a coherent collective body. This is something the Fasimba Four where clear about five decades ago, it not clear whether there are enough of us today with similar clarity to achieve a critical mass act upon it.
(1) BBC News (05/12/19) Oval Four: Men have convictions quashed in corrupt detective case. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-50674984
(2) Stuart Hall, Chas Critcher, Tony Jefferson, John Clarke, Brian Roberts (1978) Policing The Crisis: Mugging, The State, And Law And Order. The Macmillan Press Ltd. p. 5-9.
(3) Winston Trew (2010) Black For A Cause… Not Just Because.. The case of the ‘Oval4’ and the story of Black Power in 1970s Britain. Trew Books. p. 184-5.
(4) Editorial (30/10/19) The Guardian view on the Grenfell Tower report: bringing justice closer. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/oct/30/the-guardian-view-on-the-grenfell-tower-report-bringing-justice-closer
(5) Robin Bunce and Paul Field (29/11/10) Mangrove Nine: the court challenge against police racism in Notting Hill. https://www.theguardian.com/law/2010/nov/29/mangrove-nine-40th-anniversary
(6) Press Association (08/11/16) Sean Rigg death: police custody sergeant cleared of lying at inquest. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/nov/08/sean-rigg-death-police-custody-sergeant-paul-white-cleared-lying; Stafford Scott (09/01/14) This perverse Mark Duggan verdict will ruin our relations with the police. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/jan/09/mark-duggan-verdict-relations-police
(7) Trew. p. 61
(8) Trew. p. 56-7
(9) Trew. p. 65-6
(10) Trew. p. 92
(11) Trew. p. 94-6
(12) Dan Murphy (18/06/15) Why would an American white supremacist be fond of Rhodesia? https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Security-Watch/Backchannels/2015/0618/Why-would-an-American-white-supremacist-be-fond-of-Rhodesia; Robert Beckhusen (19/06/15) Why White Supremacists Identify With Rhodesia. https://medium.com/war-is-boring/why-white-supremacists-identify-with-rhodesia-480b37f3131f
(13) Duncan Campbell (13/10/19) ‘Oval Four’ could be cleared after 47 years in wake of corrupt officer case.https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/oct/13/oval-four-could-have-decades-long-convictions-overturned
(14) Florence Snead (05/12/19) ‘If you are innocent, don’t give up’: Wrongly convicted man jailed as part of ‘Oval Four’ has name cleared after nearly 50 years. https://inews.co.uk/news/uk/oval-four-winston-trew-wrongly-convicted-overturned-court-appeal-1333683
(15) BBC News. Op. cit.
(16) Campbell Op, cit.
(17) Ibid
(18) Toby Porter (13/12/19) Finally justice for Winston – 47 years too late: ‘Oval Four’ members’ convictions finally quashed by appeal court. https://www.londonnewsonline.co.uk/finally-justice-for-winston-47-years-too-late-oval-four-members-convictions-finally-quashed-by-appeal-court/
(19) Campbell. Op. cit.
(20) BBC News. Op. cit; Duncan Campbell and agency (13/01/20) Last Oval Four man has 1972 conviction referred to court of appeal. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/jan/13/last-oval-four-man-has-1972-conviction-referred-to-court-of-appeal
(21) Cecil Gutzmore (2010) Foreword inWinston Trew Black For A Cause… Not Just Because.. The case of the ‘Oval4’ and the story of Black Power in 1970s Britain. Trew Books. p. 9-10
(22) Rev Dr Martin Luther King Jr (16/04/63) Letter from a Birmingham Jail. http://www.africa.upenn.edu/Articles_Gen/Letter_Birmingham.html
(23) Snead Op. cit..
(24) Will Bennett (27/07/94) Detectives cleared over Silcott case: Jury unanimous that two officers did not fabricate evidence on PC Blakelock killing. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/detectives-cleared-over-silcott-case-jury-unanimous-that-two-officers-did-not-fabricate-evidence-on-1416435.html
(25) Matthew Gold (02/08/17) No justice for Cardiff Three: a summary of the Horwell Report. www.matthewgold.co.uk/no-justice-for-cardiff-three-a-summary-of-the-horwell-report/
(26) Diane Pien (07/07/18) Mangrove Nine Trial (1970-1972). https://www.blackpast.org/global-african-history/mangrove-nine-trial-1970-1972/
(27) BBC News (26/01/20) Man wrongfully arrested given £100k compensation by police. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-south-scotland-51255287
We ask the question:
Are YOU Black for a cause? Winston Trew and the story of the “Oval 4”
1) Were you aware of the case of the “Oval 4”?
2) Is “justice too long delayed is justice denied.”?
3) Why do the officers in these corruption cases always seem to get off scot free?
4) Have our conditions changed much in the last fifty years?
5) What cause can we organise around today to reach critical mass?
Our Special Guest:
Bro. Winston Trew: Jamaican born Winston Trew came to England in 1956. He joined the Fasimba a local Black Power organisation in 1970. On his way back from a campaign meeting in March 1972 he and three other brethren (the “Oval 4”) were set upon and framed by the police, resulting in a conviction and two-year sentence. After his release he took a degree in social sciences at the North East London Polytechnic (now the University of East London) and went into youth work for a number of years before joining South Bank University as a lecturer in social sciences from 1987 to 2000. In 2004 he began writing his autobiography/political treatise Black For A Cause… Not Just Because.. The case of the ‘Oval4’ and the story of Black Power in 1970s Britain. In December 2019 his conviction was finally quashed by the Court Of Appeal after forty-seven years.