Noye weeps as a holiday friend says he is 'kind and considerate'

Self-confessed killer Kenneth Noye wept in the dock yesterday as an Old Bailey jury heard a wheelchair-bound acquaintance describe what a nice man he is.

David Williams, who broke his back in a car accident in 1973, said in a statement that Mr Noye was "kind and considerate, never lost his temper, never used bad language and was respectful to his wife".

Mr Williams, from Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, was convalescing in Northern Cyprus at the Jasmine Hotel when he met Kenneth Noye, his wife Brenda, and their two sons. "I became very friendly with Ken over the next few weeks," he said. "He was extra kind and considerate to me. He made my holiday for me.

Mr Noye, 52, who stabbed Stephen Cameron, 21, to death in May 1996, dabbed his eyes and lowered his head as Mr Williams said: "Most people shy away from me but he was just the opposite. He never treated me as disabled or patronised me. He offered me assistance in the gym and and treated me as one of the family. He took me out for meals on at least three occasions."

Another defence witness, who had approached the court during the trial, gave evidence that he had been a victim of a road rage incident on a slip road between the A3 and M25 about three weeks before Mr Cameron died. James Hutton said he was cut up by the driver of a red Rascal van whom he later recognised in media reports as the man who had died at the Swanley interchange.

Beginning his closing speech for the prosecution, Julian Bevan QC told the jury that Mr Noye had never feared for his life when he stabbed the unarmed Mr Cameron twice in the chest. "He has made that up in order to assist his defence.

"When he realised or believed he could no longer win the punch-up with Stephen Cameron, he resorted to using a knife. He has chosen to embellish, invent and grossly exaggerate what happened to bolster his defence."

Mr Bevan said the jury must ask whether stabbing Mr Cameron was reasonable, in the circumstances, or out of all proportion to the attack he faced.

Mr Noye, of Sevenoaks, Kent, has pleaded not guilty to murder. The case continues.