Justice for Vincent and Sean Bradish

    My brother Sean and myself have been fitted up by an armed robber by the name of Steven Roberts. He told the police that we committed a load of armed robberies, he was lying. He has saved the real people that he did the robberies with from going to prison. He has got the hump that Sean moved into a flat with his ex-girlfriend, and had a baby with her. He has got the hump with me because I got off with the following girlfriend he had. Roberts is a very jealous, dangerous individual. He has mental problems also.

    I believe Roberts has been working for the police for years as an agent provocateur and informer. The police will never admit this as they don't want the public to know that they have let this individual run wild for years committing untold armed robberies, shootings etc. It was said in court that the police were lining their own pockets with money from these robberies.

    I have a statement that was made to my solicitor by a man and his girlfriend who claims that Roberts set them up to be arrested. The case was dropped when it got to court after the man produced a list of 5 names as to who he believed was going to give evidence against him from behind a closed screen. On the list was Roberts' name.

    Roberts set my brother up to be arrested on the 20/10/00. He was remanded to HMP Belmarsh. Charged with conspiracy to rob and firearm offences and his trial was set for July 2001. The case became known as the RNIB trial.

    Three weeks later on the 01/11/00 the Flying Squad arrested Steven Roberts. He made 5 interviews. Straightaway Roberts admitted his part in 3 robberies but he would not say who was with him because his solicitor was there with him and he didn't trust him and he also wanted his family moved to new addresses.

    He was not able to remember any details about the robberies. The copper said to him "I know it's a ridiculous thing to ask Steve but can you remember the number plate that the car was on." Roberts replied that it was impossible to remember any details as most of the time he was "out of his head." He was not able to give the police any specific details at all. Some of the details he did give such as saying he escaped from a robbery in a van he later changed to saying that he escaped on a motorbike, (my motorbike.) The transcript of these first 5 interviews looks as if the story is being read from a script, or that Roberts has been told what to say but is not able to remember it.

    After 5 weeks Roberts made another 52 interviews. (Code D of the PACE Act of 1984 states that it is unlawful for the same police that are investigating the robberies to be interviewing the person who committed the offences.) This time Roberts said he did not want a solicitor with him. In these interviews the police are giving Roberts all the information about the robberies. Witness statements; photos etc. Roberts' memory becomes amazing as he remembers crimes that were committed by numerous people going back years, as far back as 1995.

    Roberts first admits his own previous convictions: Theft, assault, GBH sec. 18, possession of offensive weapons, threats to kill the police with a firearm, resisting arrest, drinking and driving and possession of drugs. Then he goes on to say that he has set up and robbed numerous drug dealers and the like. He admits to buying and selling drugs. He admits to shooting people, attempted murder of the police, buying and selling firearms to hit-men. Being involved in at least 50 armed robberies. He says that he has stolen over 100 cars to be used on robberies. All of these offences he committed whilst under surveillance yet the police have not seen him commit one crime.

    Roberts named my brother Sean and myself as two of his accomplices on numerous robberies. Sean was taken from HMP Belmarsh in February 2001 where he was on remand and charged with a further charge of conspiracy to rob and conspiracy to possess firearms. I was then arrested on the 26/02/01 at 07:30 pm as I was driving along the road with a girlfriend and I also was charged with conspiracy to rob and conspiracy to possess firearms. In total there was 25 robberies in the conspiracy. The trial was set for the 7 January 2002. This case became known as the Roberts trial.

    My brother wanted both trials joined so as he could get a fair trial. He wanted Roberts called as a witness so as he could question him over his involvement with the police as an agent provocateur. The Crown refused to call Roberts, even though he was going to give evidence against both of us in the second trial. They also refused to join the two trials together, even though both offences were of the same nature and committed over the same period of time. How was Sean going to get a fair trial in the RNIB case when the jury was not hearing the whole of the facts?

    Counsel for Sean decided that he should not give evidence under these circumstances.

    Sean was convicted, which was not hard to understand why as the jury could not understand what was going on. They were hearing all this talk of Roberts but they never seen or heard him. They did not know that Roberts was going to give evidence in the second trial or that Sean was facing another trial of 25-armed robberies.

    The DCI that was in charge of the RNIB case said that observations had only started in February 2000; yet when the second trial started surveillance logs showed that the observations had been on going for more than five years.

    In the first trial Sean was sentenced to automatic life (sec. 1 09) for conspiracy to rob and all the following sentences were to run concurrent. We now know that you cannot get a 2nd strike life for conspiracy to rob yet the solicitors or barristers never said anything about it to us.

    In the first 6 months of the year 2000 there were 18-armed robberies committed while the police were watching us. None of this came out at my brother's first trial. Nor even in the second. The police suspected both of us of being involved in up to 100 robberies. The barristers would not say anything about it although they were instructed too. It is as clear as the nose on my face that the Flying Squad from Finchley, North London were letting Roberts commit these robberies and doing nothing to stop him.

    If my brother Sean and I had committed any of these robberies the police would have seen us and arrested us.

    Roberts gave evidence against us both in the second trial. (The Roberts trial). The prosecutor produced photos and videos of robberies in progress. In these photos the men are completely covered up. Sometimes you cannot even tell what colour the men are; yet Roberts said he could recognise the two of us 100%. The jury didn't know what to say or do, as they didn't know what was going on as there were so many robberies being talked about. One of the jury members said this. At the end of the trial after 5 weeks a member of the jury asked the judge could he please tell them who was Vincent and who was Sean.

    My brother sacked his counsel halfway through the trial, as they were not following his instructions, which were written in his proofs of evidence. The judge allowed him new counsel but they had to withdraw after the judge would not allow an adjournment so as the barrister could prepare the case properly. We were being well and truly fitted up!

    Thereafter Sean had to represent himself for 8 days. Six police officers gave evidence but Sean was not allowed to cross-examine them. The Detective Chief Inspector that he did question would not answer any of the questions that Sean put to him. Saying he don't have to answer because the judge has made a ruling. The judge kept on interrupting him, making him forget what he was talking about and what he was trying to prove.

    My counsel just sat there and said nothing as they said they didn't have to say anything, as I hadn't done anything. They kept on telling me how the case was looking very good for me and how I could be home the following Monday or Tuesday. They said there was no need for me to give evidence, as there was no case for me to answer. I sacked them, then reinstated them again 30 minutes later after they told me there was nothing to worry about and that there was no evidence against me.

    This was the second or third time that I had sacked them. I sacked my whole legal team when I was on remand in Belmarsh. I told them that I believed that they were working for the police. They would not leave the legal room, continually persuading me that I was wrong and that I was in safe hands.

    Two weeks before trial I handed a letter to my solicitor asking him how the trial was going to be run, as I hadn't a clue. I knew nothing.

    There were PII applications during the trial, ex parte. There was two days of PII in the RNIB trial and three days of PII in the Roberts trial. We have never been told what these hearings were about. We have never seen a sensitive schedule. The police have been letting their informers go around committing robberies and shooting people as long as the pockets of the police have been lined.

    No surveillance logs have been released to us for the days of the robberies, claiming PII. These logs would prove what we have been saying all along, that Roberts has been allowed to commit all these robberies. The police have put the lives of the public in danger by letting this continue. One, sometimes two robberies per week, for years. The police should be charged with conspiracy to rob and perverting the course of justice.

    The prosecutor made his closing speech. Sean made his. Sean told the jury how he had been convicted at his earlier trial for conspiracy to rob and possession of firearms but that he had been given leave to appeal, as the conviction was unsafe. My counsel made his closing speech and cut the throats of both of us by telling the jury that we were both suspected of numerous other armed robberies and violent offences.

    There was no way they were letting us out of that courtroom. I sacked my counsel after I got convicted and they had told me not to hold my breath for an appeal. I told them they were working for the police. When I said this to my solicitor he said he cannot represent me anymore and he left, leaving both of us un-represented at sentence.

    Two weeks later on the 7 March 2002 the judge sentenced us. He said in court that numerous firearms had been recovered from us. I shouted out "well where are they then" as there was only one firearm in my trial, the Roberts trial. And this firearm belonged to Roberts.

    Sean was given 4 life sentences to run concurrent with the 3 that he was already serving. I was sentenced to 22 years x 2 concurrent.

    We both appealed to the single judge but were refused leave. Then I met Mr. Giovanni Di Steffano (controversial Italian lawyer) while I was still on remand 'in Belmarsh. He took on the case. Sean was quickly moved to Whitemoor while I was placed in the SSU at HMP Belmarsh. There I stayed for 6 months under observation.

    Thereafter Sean and I were denied access to Mr. Di Steffano by the prison authorities. We were told that this would be a powerful ground of appeal for us, especially if it goes to the
European Court of Human Rights. .

    The date was given for our Leave to Appeal hearing in the Full Court at the Royal Courts Of Justice. The 1 April 2004. Grounds of Appeal that myself and Sean submitted to the Court of Appeal were not argued as instructed. The ground of being denied access to the solicitor of our choice was not argued. Counsel also failed to argue our sentences. It seemed the stitch up was still going on.

    A PII application ex-parte also took place at appeal without any special counsel being present to safeguard our interests. Although we had been told if the case of R. v. H. and C. (2004) goes in our favour then we would be home and dry, as there was PII all over our case. We actually waited for the case of R. v. H. and C. to finish. Yet although it went in our favour by saying that special counsel should be present at these hearings, our counsel then turned around and said our case was not a special counsel case. The Bar Counsel backed the barrister when we complained and said they can find no evidence of incompetence, even though he had not argued that we had no conference with solicitor or counsel before appeal.

    There are numerous other things about this case that I have not printed. Such as the prosecutor during his opening speech saying that 14 hand guns and 11 sawn off shotguns had been recovered. Yet there was no evidence of this and neither counsel said anything about it.

    Two of the jury members had relatives in the police. One of them was a member of the Flying Squad and the other a copper in the City of London. The jury foreman was at school with the junior barrister that my brother sacked. He had a look on his face during the trial that said he'd heard it all before. Maybe he'd been told all about the case before it started. I shouldn't think he was very happy about my brother sacking his friend.

    Counsel who done our appeal was sacked and so was Mr. Di Steffano. Although, I have now been back in touch with Mr. Di Steffano as he said he's willing to put in an appeal against sentence for us both. I told him that I wanted a particular barrister. I have now been told that this barrister wants £10,000 to argue sentence. We have no money to give him and so we are now waiting to see what happens.

MOJUK, I hope I haven't gone on too much and that this information will be helpful to other wrongfully convicted persons. Could you send this out on your mailing list and put it on a website to let people know what has gone on in our case?

Maybe someone can help somehow.

People have to know what is going on in this country. NO¬ONE is getting a fair trial. We definitely didn't!

Yours sincerely,
Vincent Bradish.
April 2005

Messages of Support/Solidarity:
Vincent Bradish
HMP Whitemoor
Longhill Road
March, Cambs
PE15 0PR