One of the men wrongly jailed for the notorious “Ice Cream Wars” murders in the 1980s has died, the Daily Record can reveal.
Thomas “TC” Campbell, 66, is said to have died in his sleep at his home near Loch Eck, Argyll, where he lived alone.
His brother George confirmed the death to the Record, but would give no further details.
Campbell and co-accused Joe Steele spent 18 years in prison for the horrific murder of six people in the fire-bombing of a flat in Glasgow’s east end, linked to turf wars for ice cream vans which were selling drugs.
Petrol was poured into the tenement flat in Ruchazie where the Doyle family lived on 16 April, 1984.
Christine Doyle Halleron, 25, her 18-month-old son, Mark, James Doyle Snr, 53, and his sons James Jnr, 23, Andrew 18, and Anthony, 14, were killed in the fire.
Three people in the flat somehow managed to escape the blaze.
The family were targeted because they refused to give up their van route in Garthamlock.
Andrew Doyle was the intended victim because he had refused to be intimidated out of giving up his ice-cream van run.
Strathclyde Police arrested six people over the deaths, but only Campbell and Steele were charged and convicted of the murders.
Both were refused appeals though they vehemently protested their innocence.
Steel, now 57, even escaped and glued himself to the gates of Buckingham Palace.
Both men were finally cleared of the vicious killings in 2004.
Their convictions had hinged largely on the testimony of one man - William Love - who claimed he had heard Campbell, Steele and others saying they would “teach Andrew ‘Fat Boy’ Doyle a lesson” by torching his flat.
But Love was later quoted in a 1992 book saying he had lied about his evidence, saying he had been pressured by police.
Campbell protested his innocence from his jail cell refusing to have his hair cut.
Today a family friend said: "TC has gone. He died in his sleep at his remote home.
“Despite the fact he was clearly innocent of what he was jailed for, he spent the rest of his life after being freed looking over his shoulder.
“There were still some people, who, despite all the facts, still blamed him.
“And he always feared some Glasgow gangland figure might target him to make a name for himself.”
When approached by the Record over the death, TC’s brother George said: "That’s correct. But you should speak to his close family.”
Campbell had served several sentences before he was jailed in the 80s.
Born in Cowcaddens, Glasgow, he grew up in Carntyne in the east of the city.
He was stabbed on various occasions and once was given the last rites. When he regained consciousness he told the priest: "I’m a protestant."
He was set upon following his release from jail by a gang of thugs wielding weapons, but escaped and played the attack down.
In an interview earlier this year he said of the east end: "You couldn’t go from A to B without cutting through somebody else’s territory, without them coming at you with knives, axes, swords.
“If you’re not paranoid, you’ll not survive. Paranoia is a survival factor in the jungle.”
Campbell read books to educate himself while in jail.
He also read, recited, and wrote poetry.
The attack on the Doyle’s home was supposed to be a “frightener”, gangland sources said.
In 2010 gangland enforcer Gary Moore confessed a month before he died to torching the Doyle flat.
But Steele, now 56, poured scorn on the claim earlier this year.
He said late crimelord Tam “The Licensee” McGraw - who died of natural causes in 2007 - had ordered the fire attack.
Following their release from prison in 2004, Steele spoke of his hatred for Campbell.
He said: "All this time, people believed TC and I were close friends.
“The truth is we were never friends. I’ve hated him for years and blame him for destroying my life.
“It got to the stage where I couldn’t even stand to see his face.
“But we were welded together in the eyes of the public and the legal system.
“To have spoken my mind would have meant I’d never be free.
“We were the ‘Glasgow Two’, a marriage truly made in hell. I never want to set eyes on him again as long as I live. I hope he rots for all the evil he’s done.”
Steele added: “I was cleared 100 per cent of any wrongdoing involving the Doyles and I never had anything to do with ice-cream vans. But TC was up to his neck in that business.
“I didn’t know the Doyles, I wasn’t in competition with them. But TC and his family were. I know where I was the night the Doyle family were massacred in their beds. It’s up to other people to explain where they were.”
The original trial judge, Lord Kincaig, who was retired at the time of the pair’s release, spoke out against the Appeal Court ruling.
He said it implied there had been a conspiracy by police, which he did not accept.
Two of the main detectives involved in the original investigation had since died.
Aamer Anwar, Campbell’s appeal lawyer, said: "I’m heartbroken at the news of Tommy’s death.
"The Ice Cream Wars case was a monument to the barbaric failures of a justice system which incarcerated two innocent men for the murder of six members of the Doyle family, but Tommy Campbell represented the inherent ability of the human spirit to fight for freedom and overcome injustice.
"As a young lawyer at the start of my career it was an honour to be asked by TC to take on his appeal. I still remember the day he walked into my office, with a glint in his eye and a cheeky smile.
"He was a giant of a man, who despite being imprisoned, refused to give up, fighting the judiciary and a corrupt police force.
"In 2004 I stood on the steps of the Appeal court and I said that: 'After 20 years of hunger strikes, 16 years in prison, breakouts, demonstrations, political pressure, solitary isolation, prison beatings and legal fight after legal fight Tommy Campbell is finally free'.
"For Tommy his struggle was so much more than just about him, it was about the pursuit of justice for the Doyle family.
"I hope now that TC is truly free and can be at peace. What makes me sad is that this man who had his life taken from him never received the recognition and apology he deserved."
