John Henry Sayers, 62, returned to Newcastle after a jury at the Old Bailey found him and his son, John Henry Sayers Junior, 29, not guilty of causing grievous bodily harm to William Patterson. Patterson had driven a Range Rover into Sayers' home and set it alight in February last year. The father and son had been on remand since the incident.
Relief and Determination
In an exclusive interview, Sayers expressed relief at being home and determination to protect his family. 'It will never be over, but how can you give in. I'm just going to get on with life,' he said. 'They are not going to detract from what we have got to do as a family. It's onwards and upwards now. It's beautiful to be home. I love this city.'
Sayers emphasized that he and his son acted in self-defence. 'We don't worry about it, we just live our life, if they attack us we will defend ourselves within the law,' he added.
Background of Attacks
The jury heard that the Sayers family had been repeatedly attacked by the Freeman organised crime group for three years before the incident. Sayers had received an Osman warning from police about a genuine threat to his life. 'I have had that many Osman warnings they mean nothing to us,' he said. 'We have all got to die one day.'
The incident occurred while Sayers' teenage daughter Ava was inside the home. Sayers felt the building shake as the Range Rover was reversed into Lou's Diner beneath his flat. He grabbed a machete and went outside, followed by his son with a metal pole. They saw Patterson torching the vehicle, which had a fuel container inside and burst into flames.
The Attack and Arrest
CCTV showed Sayers swinging his machete twice before entering the burning vehicle to move it away from the property, suffering burns. His son hit Patterson with the pole. When police arrived, Sayers was tasered and arrested while still holding the machete.
'I was just upstairs sorting Ava's school uniform, then I felt a bang and I knew straight away what it was so we just started running downstairs,' Sayers recounted. 'I didn't even know I had picked the machete up. I just thought; "I have got to go outside, I need something to protect myself with." We retaliated in self-defence. Most parents would do the same.'
Life Behind Bars
Sayers has spent long periods in prison, including a 15-year sentence for a £350,000 wages robbery in 1990. He was later acquitted of murder and conspiracy to murder but served three-and-a-half years for perverting the course of justice. During the 18 months on remand for this case, he was held at HMP Frankland and HMP Belmarsh.
'Every minute of every day I was worried about my family outside. You feel powerless when you are on remand. That's 18 months of my life gone. You don't get that back,' he said.
Verdict and Future
After about four hours of deliberation, the jury unanimously found both Sayers and his son not guilty of causing GBH with intent and the lesser alternative. 'I never thought I would be convicted,' Sayers said. 'I know this country is a bit woke, but there's a lot more sensible people than there are woke people, thank the Lord. We are so grateful to the London jurors for actually seeing common sense.'
Patterson later pleaded guilty to arson being reckless as to whether life was endangered and was jailed. Sayers and his son now plan to rebuild their lives and businesses in Newcastle.
