Ice-cream war man freed for murder appeal
Saturday 7 December, 1996

A MAN who has served 12 years of a life sentence for Glasgow's "ice-cream war" murders was freed yesterday pending appeal against conviction. Joseph Steele, 35, who was jailed in 1984 for his part in the murder of six members of the same family, has always maintained his innocence. At the High Court in Edinburgh, three judges agreed that he was no longer a threat to the public, and granted him "interim liberation" until the appeal hearing next year. Steele was jailed with Thomas Campbell - whose case will also be re-considered - after six people died when a flat in Ruchazie, Glasgow, was fire-bombed in 1984 after a feud between ice- cream firms.