trouble.

He confessed he lied to Police at his very first interview, the day after 68-year-old Wilbur Doe was found lying in a pool of blood.

But he insisted he was now telling the truth in saying his friend Ricky Smith was guilty of the murder, and not him.

"I told the jury the truth,'' he told Chief Justice the Hon. Sir James Astwood after giving his account of events. "Lies got me in trouble, my lord.'' After giving his account, Watson was immediately pounced on by prosecutor Mr.

Barrie Meade, who raised the subject of Watson's 1990 trial for this offence, which resulted in a hung jury.

"The first time the precise details of how Ricky Smith is alleged by you to have bludgeoned to death Wilbur Doe emerged after all the the prosecution evidence had been heard,'' said Mr. Meade.

"The first opportunity I had to give a detailed account was during the first trial,'' replied Watson.

He admitted that instead of telling the truth to Police at his first interview on December 10, 1988, he had told lies. He said he had not co-operated with Police because they had not co-operated with him by allowing him to see a lawyer.

He denied being dominated by Ricky Smith, or arranging to meet up with him on the night Doe was attacked.

Earlier in the day, Watson told the court he regretted a "confession'' he made to the attack on December 17, 1988.

He told the jury the purpose of the statement was to get even with top detectives, who he says treated him badly and tried to break his morale.

He tried to break their morale and waste their time by having them called from Christmas celebrations to hear his story.

"I was just talking for the sake of talking, just to keep them there,'' he told the court. Some parts of the statement were true, he said, but some parts were false - like when he said he was the culprit.

Watson said there was a fight within himself at the time about whether to "do the right thing'', but he did not want to "prick'' on his best friend. He believed Doe would soon recover and reveal who attacked him.

At the time of the "confession'' he did not know Smith was also in custody, he said.

"If I could turn the clock back this course of action would not exist,'' he said. "If I knew then that Smith was in custody I would not have adopted this scam for protectionism. It's embarrassing.'' Watson said references in the statement to him having a split personality were false, and merely repetitions of what Police had alleged.

Watson then told how his relationship with Smith broke down while they were both on remand in Casemates. Smith said he had been told by Police that all he had to do was confirm Watson's statement, said Watson.

He tried to get Smith to tell the truth, but Smith blamed him for the trouble they were in.

Asked to explain a letter from him to Smith produced at the trial, Watson said it was confirming a plan by Smith on what they were to say. A third person, referred to as "that bitch'', was to take the blame.

When Smith eventually refused to co-operate, Watson said he tried, but failed, to get Police and the Attorney General's office to help him record Smith's conversations with him.