Noel "Razor" Smith

In prison he taught himself to read and write, gained an Honours Diploma from the London School of Journalism and an A-level in law.

[2] Smith was born in London to Irish immigrant parents: an unemployed and violent father and working mother.

However, while playing truant from school at the age of 14 with a friend, he was picked up by the burglary squad and beaten and tortured by them.

This then led to harassment by the police on several occasions, for example raiding the family home to the extent where they opted to drop the charges.

[citation needed] He was jailed for life in 1997 on the two-strikes provisions of the Crime Sentences Act 1997, after a robbery spree.

While in Borstal, Smith tried to escape and assaulted a night watchman but was captured and thrown into a punishment block.