Brian Clifford

Brian Clifford was shot at his home in Kennington Road, Kennington, South London at about midnight on 27 September 1985.

The gunman had got into his home and run up the stairs and shot Brian Clifford as he lay in bed.

It was noted that in 1973 Brian Clifford had been acquitted of attempted murder after a big-time London criminal was gunned down in the street.

Brian Clifford was known as Brian 'Little Legs' Clifford and was described as being a gangland enforcer and was noted for having claimed that he could arrange for crooked cops to fix alibis for people and had been interviewed by an undercover investigator looking for an alibi to whom he said he could arrange alibis from about £500. He was reported to have explained that he could arrange for police officers to say they had been with a person and arrange for evidence such as restaurant receipts, cheques and photographs from the meal to be created, adding that he could get anyone off for anything, including murder. He was reported as stating that his alibis were 'Bank of England' and that they had been doing it for 15 years. He had claimed that one of his accomplices had been a police constable, describing him as a thorough crook who did all the back-dated cover notes.

An associate of Brian Clifford said:

Brian Clifford had been 5ft 4in tall and had been a furniture shop owner. He was a father of four.

His inquest returned a verdict of unlawful killing.

He had been in bed at his home in Kennington Road on 27 September 1985 when a masked gunman came to his house and was let in by his wife when she answered the door and pushed his way past her and their two daughters and shot him in the head twice with a sawn-off shotgun as he slept in bed.

Following the inquest, a detective said:

The gunman was described as being:

• 6ft tall.
• Broad build.
• White.
• Aged between 30 and 45.

Following his murder, it was noted that he had bought his house from the St Olave, St Thomas and St John United Charities for £16,950 sometime previously and that it was then on the market for £110,000. The transaction was described as scandalous, with Brian Clifford having bought it under a false name. It was claimed that the charity, which was designed to help the poor, was being milked. The house had been a four story charity house. The Trustee chairman was later dismissed for gross misconduct. It was further noted that his mother had lived in another similar property in St Olive's Mansions where the rents were reasonable and so did his two daughters and that the Trustee had also rented two other flats to two of Brian Clifford's uncles.