UPDATE
A sombre start to the week with an early morning trip to Stafford Crown Court to witness the opening of the trial concerning the men accused of murdering BNP activist Keith Brown. I take the A449 as opposed to the M6 as it is slightly quicker but still struggle for time as I find a parking space in the busy market town. A quick trip to the post office and the bank on the way and thankfully I still have five minutes to spare.
One of the cameramen recognises me as I go in and after a quick chat I’m relieved to find that both ITV and the BBC are to follow the trial. Primarily we want to make sure that Keith’s murder is not swept under the carpet as I’m sure some senior Establishment figures would like and two camera teams outside is an encouraging sign.
Having emptied my pockets as I passed through the security check one of the staff cracks a joke about me being on trial today. The last time I was here it was on jury service which, much to my disappointment, turned out to be a complete and utter waste of my time.
Initially we are directed to Court number four for a 10:30 start but for some reason all of the proceedings are suddenly transferred to Court number two. I speak to the BBC local reporter who seems to be particularly interested in the background to the case as is ITV’s national reporter who asks whether or not Nick will be in attendance.
In the public gallery of Court number two I bump into Sam Tunstall one of our Stoke candidates and we sit and chat about the breakthroughs and near misses on May 1st.Just before 12 p.m. the jury is sworn in consisting of 11 white people and one Afro-Caribbean. There seems to be more men than women and the age grouping is completely mixed.
The judge then sets the timetable out with subsequent proceedings scheduled to start at 10:30 every morning with a one hour lunch break at 1 p.m. and a further two hour session ending at 4 p.m.
Three men face charges, Habib Khan is charged murder and unlawful wounding and his two sons, Azir Habib Seddique and Khazir Habib are charged with unlawful wounding. The judge is told that Azir Habib has only yesterday returned from Pakistan which seems to be in breach of his bail conditions and as such he is remanded in custody.
Khazir Habib instantly pleads guilty to unlawful wounding and the judge grants bail until later sentencing. A video of the tragic and shocking day taken from Habib Khan’s own security camera and retrieved by the police from a computer is offered forth by the prosecution.It shows two men attacking Keith Brown with a brick and a wheel brace followed by another man plunging a large knife into Keith’s back. The knifeman then hands the weapon to a woman dressed in a sari who takes it indoors. Unlike the brick and the wheel brace the knife has never been found and for some reason the woman who concealed the weapon is not before the judge as well.
Video evidence from Keith’s 15-year-old son is also shown, surprisingly the police saw fit to take this just hours after his father’s murder. After this the judge emphasised that he required Keith’s widow to give evidence tomorrow and with that the day’s proceedings were brought to an end.
West Midlands British National Party will have representatives attending the trial each day to insure that there is justice for Keith Brown and his family.
SOURCE
Tarn Lass
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