Uploaded December 2020 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
On 12 August 1966, three London Metropolitan Police officers stopped near a blue van parked near Wormwood Scrubs prison. Thinking they might be planning a prison escape, the police officers made the fatal mistake of questioning the three van occupants. What happened next would result in the three officers losing their lives, and the start of one of the biggest manhunts in British criminal history.
Please note that this program was made in 1993. John Duddy died in prison in 1981. John Edward Witney was released from prison in 1991, but was bludgeoned to death with a hammer by his flatmate in August 1999. Harry Roberts was paroled in 2014. He is thought to still be alive as of 2020.
This is a TV recording, and thus has about 3 minutes of footage cut. The documentary also mixed up the photos of Duddy and Witney at the beginning, possibly because of the cutting.
On 12 August 1966, three London Metropolitan Police officers stopped near a blue van parked near Wormwood Scrubs prison. Thinking they might be planning a prison escape, the police officers made the fatal mistake of questioning the three van occupants. What happened next would result in the three officers losing their lives, and the start of one of the biggest manhunts in British criminal history.
Please note that this program was made in 1993. John Duddy died in prison in 1981. John Edward Witney was released from prison in 1991, but was bludgeoned to death with a hammer by his flatmate in August 1999. Harry Roberts was paroled in 2014. He is thought to still be alive as of 2020.
This is a TV recording, and thus has about 3 minutes of footage cut. The documentary also mixed up the photos of Duddy and Witney at the beginning, possibly because of the cutting.
