Murder of Stephen Oake

On 14 January 2003, Detective Constable Stephen Robin Oake, an anti-terrorism officer with Greater Manchester Police, was killed while taking part in an immigration operation at Flat 4, 4 Crumpsall Lane in the Crumpsall area of north Manchester. Oake had served with Greater Manchester Police for almost 20 years and had worked as an anti-terrorism detective in the special branch since 1999. He was born in Poynton, Cheshire, and was the son of Robin Oake, a former chief constable of the Isle of Man Constabulary.

During the operation, officers found three men at the address, including Kamel Bourgass, an Algerian national who had entered the UK illegally in the back of a lorry three years earlier. Bourgass was wanted in London in connection with the Wood Green ricin plot, a bioterrorism plot targeting the London Underground, but was not immediately recognised by the officers present and was not handcuffed, as he was not perceived to pose a threat. Believing the officers had identified him in connection with the ricin plot, Bourgass attempted to escape, punching one officer and seizing a kitchen knife. Oake, who was unarmed and not wearing protective clothing, moved to restrain him and was stabbed eight times in the chest and upper body, including one wound that penetrated his heart. Despite his injuries, Oake continued trying to help colleagues subdue Bourgass. Three other officers were also stabbed before Bourgass was detained. Oake later died of his injuries.

The killing prompted debate over whether police in England and Wales should be permitted to handcuff suspects regardless of an immediate or obvious threat. A subsequent inquiry criticised the officers who led the raid for inadequate operational planning.

Oake's funeral at Manchester Cathedral drew more than 1,000 attendees, including Prime Minister Tony Blair. In 2005, the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority paid £13,000 each to Oake's widow and his three children, an amount the Greater Manchester Police Federation said did not match his sacrifice. A Manchester street was renamed Stephen Oake Close in his honour, and in 2006 the Police Memorial Trust unveiled a granite memorial near the site of his killing; the memorial was vandalised in March 2007 and replaced six months later, with no one prosecuted despite a £15,000 reward.

A civil service committee ruled in 2006 that Oake's actions did not meet the standard required for the George Cross. He was posthumously awarded the Queen's Gallantry Medal in 2009, cited in The London Gazette. A colleague stabbed twice during the incident received a Queen's Commendation for Bravery.

Kamel Bourgass was convicted at the Old Bailey on 29 June 2004 of Oake's murder, the attempted murder of two other officers, and wounding another. He was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 22 years, plus 15 years for the attempted murder charges; his appeal was rejected in July 2005. A second trial concluding on 8 April 2005 convicted Bourgass of conspiracy to commit a public nuisance using poisons or explosives, adding 17 years to his sentence; a conspiracy to murder charge related to the ricin plot was left on file after the jury failed to reach a verdict. Four co-defendants were acquitted, and a second trial for four others was abandoned.