30/08/07 - Essex killings feature in new film
Echo

A film based on the true story of a London gangster, which concludes with the infamous Rettendon murders, is due for release in cinemas next week. Rise of the Footsoldier opens nationwide next Friday. It follows 30 years in the life of Carlton Leach, as he turns from being a football hooligan to become a bouncer and feared criminal.

The film starts and finishes with three members of his firm being shot at Rettendon. Michael Steele, of Great Bentley, and Jack Whomes, of Brockford in Suffolk, are serving life sentences after being convicted in 1998 of killing Patrick Tate, Anthony Tucker and Craig Rolfe, who were discovered dead in a Range Rover in December 1995.

The pair have protested their innocence but judges at the Royal Courts of Justice rejected an appeal against their convictions. In April this year, Mr Steele's solicitor Chris Bowen lodged a petition on behalf of his client at the European Court of Human Rights,claiming the two men were denied a fair trial.

A key witness in the trial of Mr Steele and Mr Whomes - Braintree man Darren Nicholls - is also portrayed in the film. It has three endings to mirror the conspiracy theories about the Rettendon case - that the police, a firm from London, or Mr Steel and Mr Whomes were responsible for the killings.