Fit Up (19 page)

‘I
’m sure Andre and Leslie don’t believe in me any more,’ said Jeremy. The Fellows report had rankled him and it was constantly on his mind. He was confused by its contents against what Duncan had said in his forensic report, that there was absolutely nothing about child pornography, but Fellows had written in such a way as to condemn Jeremy to be a constant trawler of such material. ‘Even I would have doubts about me after reading that,’ he added.

Jeremy had been in an earnest conversation with Andre who had said that the report, if used in court and without a response from us in forensics, would be very damaging. He went on to say, however, that this was not the basis of the case as Hopkins was not in possession of such information in July 2004 in order to make a charge against Jeremy. This was all well and good, but Jeremy wanted Duncan to inspect the Tiny computer, not just for the court case, but to prove to his legal team that he was not that person in the report. Andre said that, with the framework of his case, it was not worth spending the money on a thorough forensic investigation and that Leslie was going to make an application to the court that computer forensic evidence should not be a requirement. The issues were simple and straightforward. Namely, did Hopkins know there was no evidence to bring a successful prosecution, but nevertheless
pursued a prosecution for motives other than in the interests of justice? It was still a case of who knew what and, more importantly, when. We were interested in the period between October 2003 and July 2004, not what Fellows was telling the police in his 2008 report.

Andre had actually told Jeremy that if the police were to stand by the evidence that Fellows had revealed then they would have grounds to raid our home and arrest Jeremy again. I couldn’t bear a repeat of that but, to guard ourselves, we packed boxes of files and kept back-up discs of information at a separate location. If we were to be raided and everything taken, we would still be able to re-create files and operate. We started to take note of different cars parking outside of the house for any length of time and whose occupants remained with their vehicles. We became watchful whenever we went out and we were careful what we discussed on the phone. Perhaps we were not being spied upon and there really was no one there, but we could not be sure. Our paranoia had been heightened by documents we had seen in disclosure that indicated we had been watched before the raid.

We were notified that the police had applied for a court hearing to pressure us into handing over Duncan’s report and, in turn, Leslie applied for a cross hearing to prevent this and the police from producing the Fellows report at trial. So, on 23 October, Jeremy was back in court again with his legal team. On this occasion a Mr Justice Wyn Williams was presiding. I could not attend as I was running out of leave and needed to keep at least a week free for the main trial coming up in about eight weeks at the beginning of December. This was frustrating as waiting by the telephone was always a nerve-racking experience as I felt I should be physically by Jeremy’s side.

Eventually I received a call to say that the judge was considering further information which Challenger was going to provide but Leslie had a good feeling that the decision would be in our favour as Wyn Williams
had completely grasped the points of the case and that to include the Fellows report would bring nothing of value to it. Eventually we received the court order stating that the police should be prevented from calling Mr Fellows at trial or putting his witness statement before the trial judge. The police were also ordered to pay for the costs of this application which was also very encouraging for us. This was the third hearing that we had won with costs against the police but there was no sign of them throwing in the towel. Each time Leslie had painstakingly taken the judges through the case and evidence to see our point of view and we hoped that we would have one of these presiding over the main trial.

Our legal team were pressing on with the case preparation and Andre encouraged us to keep reading our statements, as well as all the evidence, and let it all sink in. He said to keep to the truth and they would do the rest. I felt like I was studying for an exam and no matter how many times I looked over the papers it was like I was looking at them for the first time. If I asked myself questions that the defence might ask I was dumbstruck and unable to formulate the answers.

Although Mr Justice Wyn Williams had ordered to preclude the police from relying on the expert opinion of Mr Fellows, this was lost on Challenger. So desperate were the police to include this evidence in the trial in order to blacken Jeremy’s character that Challenger had requested a further application with another court official for it to be included. It just so happened that it was an official that we had fallen foul of years before when we had so nearly had our case thrown out before appointing Andre and Leslie. In a last-ditch attempt, Challenger was appealing to Master Eyre to revisit the question of including the Fellows report and had hastily arranged this application, possibly trying to catch us out. It just showed us the arrogance of the man and the public body he was representing.

Again it was more time to set aside for Leslie and Andre who were busy with case preparation and did not really need this distraction. We
held our trust in both of them and were confident that this was a time-wasting exercise but nevertheless we had to go through the motions to win.

On 20 November, after a relatively short hearing in which Challenger appeared to be begging for computer forensics to be admitted, Master Eyre quickly came to the same conclusion as Mr Justice Williams: that the police could not rely on Fellows as a witness and nor should his statement be included at trial. Another small victory.

What was more satisfying about this application was that it meant that Hertfordshire Constabulary had to pay our costs. This was the fourth hearing that they had been defeated in and yet they were still ploughing on spending public money, of which, it appeared, there were limitless funds.

J
ust after the hearing presided over by Mr Justice Wyn Williams, Andre received a letter from Grundy indicating that Hertfordshire Constabulary might be prepared to go to mediation or discuss a compromise with Jeremy. Andre replied that we would be interested in this proposal and her response on the matter was almost immediate but carried with it a U-turn and a shocking insinuation. Grundy wrote:

There followed a drafted apology, which it was suggested that we might like to approve before it was sent to us! It basically outlined what had already been said, finishing with: ‘I wish to apologise for the distress this matter must have caused you and your family. I want to reassure you that the Officers and staff have been made aware of the impact such errors can have on innocent parties.'

This was all Hertfordshire Constabulary were going to offer by way of settlement in an effort to prevent the matter going to trial.

We were absolutely outraged, as was Andre. What was most puzzling were Grundy's contradictory statements. I was desperately upset about the phrase ‘serial child pornography offender'. If this were true, would the police force offer to sit down and listen to Jeremy's whining about how
he was treated by them? I hardly think so. Basically, in layman's terms, what the police were actually offering Jeremy was not just an apology that he should approve for himself but an invitation for him to visit the police force to lecture them on the shortcomings of how they conducted their investigations and how they should proceed in the future. It was laughable. If there was all this overwhelming information on the Tiny computer, how had it been missed by their own expert, Fouhey, and our computer expert, Duncan? Conveniently, the police had managed to find someone to write something in such a way as to discredit Jeremy.

Grundy was on rocky ground with her ‘serial paedophile' allegations – even Fellows had not used this phrase at all in his report – this was purely the opinion of Grundy. Andre repeatedly challenged her on this and to point out where she found this information, but she remained silent on the matter.

Her face came into my mind and I felt nothing but hatred for her. I could see her now with the expression that she kept when looking over at Jeremy at one of the hearings. The look of unfeigned disgust.

Then Chowdhury's name came up again in correspondence and Andre responded to him, asking that he confirm if he had taken over conduct of this matter from Grundy, pointing out that it was they who proffered the idea of mediation and that our claim had always been for reasonable recompense and not a one-page letter of apology.

The questions raised on our behalf against this were:

On the subject of the evidence by Fellows it was pointed out to Grundy that Mr Justice Wyn Williams sought clarification from Colin Challenger as to whether he was seeking to amend his re-amended defence, and Challenger confirmed he was not and explained to the court that he was concerned about the impact that this may have upon damages if the case was lost by the defendant. In my opinion, this is why the police were so desperate to have this evidence, because if they lost, the damages for Jeremy would be greatly reduced.

Andre also pointed out that there was nothing in Duncan Campbell's draft document that was harmful to Jeremy's case and that Challenger in his submissions makes assumptions devoid of reality. Disclosure was to be resisted because Hertfordshire Police were not entitled to this document under client privilege.

We were back to this game of batting letters back and forth, which Andre did not need while making final preparations for the trial.

T
hat weekend prior to the start of the trial was spent quietly to prepare ourselves. Jeremy sat in his office surrounded by thick files full of papers that we had accumulated during the last five years. I had familiarised myself with most of the paperwork as and when it had arrived at our house and filed it in chronological order. I was confident of my knowledge of my statement and tried to help Jeremy with his revision as he had a lot more ground to cover than me. However, this was soon abandoned when he became bad tempered as I guided or corrected him with the case information. In the end, my support had to come from feeding and watering him and just being there when needed. He had to come to terms with this on his own. Sasha and Nancy were always generous with their cuddles and affection when they checked on him. They stared into his eyes with some consternation as they picked up his emotive state and did not leave him until reassured. We did have the odd break from the house when we went to see our families for an hour or two, which was of great comfort but when we left them we felt like having a good cry. We were suddenly young children again wanting our parents to make everything all right but we were now very grown up and had to go into battle on our own.

Time seemed to have sped by so quickly, but here we were, on the day of the trial.

I awoke just before the alarm was due to go off at 6 a.m. but I felt that I had not slept and that my eyelids had been propped open all night. I felt Jeremy stirring beside me as I slipped out of bed to make us both a cup of tea and let the dogs out.

Jeremy had decided he would drive into London in order to meet Andre and Leslie before court. It was 7 a.m. and dark and cold outside as he came downstairs dressed in his suit. I looked at him and smiled, giving words of encouragement as I pushed up the knot of his tie to cover the top shirt button that he hated to do up. He was going to get breakfast once he arrived in London if he felt like eating and I insisted he should eat something. It was going to be a long morning and he needed the sustenance. We kissed goodbye and I hugged him hard, not wanting to let him go. He chuckled nervously, probably trying to retain his composure as his eyes started to water a little. Then he was gone, the door slamming behind him.

From the proposed order of witnesses I had already been informed by Andre that I would not be needed in court on the first day. However, I had still planned to attend even though I would not be allowed to sit in the courtroom until Jeremy had finished giving his evidence. How could I not be there for him after all this time?

I left the house at 10 a.m. to get the train into London.

After five long years, the first day of our search for justice had begun.

I
had felt the panic rise as soon as I stood outside of the Royal Courts of Justice. After passing through security I made my way to the ladies' washroom just to gather myself. The reflection staring back at me from
the mirror seemed bright and confident enough but belied a sleepless night and wretched turmoil. I wished she was someone else. I re-applied a little lipstick very slowly, trying to delay the time when I would have to leave the safety and comfort of this room. Finally, there was no turning back, I took a deep breath, picked up my bag and made my way to Court 36.

The walk through the maze of old corridors seemed to take ages and as I looked at my watch I noticed it was almost midday. High noon! I smiled to myself at this thought and then my heart went out to Jeremy who had been on the stand since 10.30 a.m. My mind whirled wondering how he was, what was happening, was he coping – so many questions.

Emerging from a winding staircase into a large hall I looked around nonchalantly to find myself a place to sit until there was a break for lunch. It was desperately cold and comfortless. Suddenly, and inexplicably, I was filled with absolute terror – so much so that I was unable to breathe. The building was intimidating, the situation serious and I desperately wanted to speak to my parents. Here I was, forty-seven years old and still needing the reassurance of Mum and Dad. However, they were on holiday and so I thought I would call my sister-in-law, Suzanne. She was out and I got David, her husband. I said I was having a bit of a panic attack and he told me that everything would be all right, that we were not the ones on trial. He was absolutely right, get hold of yourself, I thought.

After calming down, I dared myself to walk past the courtroom doors. There were two entrances and Jeremy came into view on the second, framed by the dark wood of a window pane. I wanted him to notice me for reassurance but on the other hand I did not want to distract him. Even with a side-on view I could tell he was nervous by his flushed face, together with the simple action of the way he removed his glasses from his face when looking at Challenger and then putting them on again when he had to read something from the files in front of him. I knew
his heart must be thundering and I felt a great pity mixed with anger that he should have to be defending himself from the onslaught of cross-examination from Challenger. He had been waiting all these years for this and now he was getting on with the job at hand.

Although I had dressed warmly for fending off the winter temperatures I had not anticipated how cold it would be sitting on a hard wooden bench in a comfortless stone-clad hall. The sun was shining brightly through the stained glass window but giving little warmth.

Even though there were other courtrooms close by, it was a lonely, quiet place to sit.

I pulled up the collar of my coat, my gloved hands holding open the book that I could not concentrate on reading. My feet were like blocks of ice as I tried to wiggle my toes and I was aware that I was becoming sleepy which, actually, felt quite welcoming. Suddenly I was startled into consciousness by a loud bang of a door and Andre striding towards me bearing a smile that radiated a warmth which had yet to course through my body. He held out his hand to shake mine and said that I could not talk to Jeremy until he had finished giving evidence and that he would take me to lunch. I had not known this and was disappointed as I tried to keep pace with him on the way to the cafeteria on feet that were desperately trying to get some circulation going.

The cafeteria was packed and there was no seating so Andre and I had to stand chatting while eating our lunch. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Jeremy standing by himself. I felt desperately sad at his predicament because neither Andre nor Leslie could speak to him either while he was still in the middle of giving evidence. I asked Andre how Jeremy was doing and he said he was doing OK but that Challenger was giving him a tough time, which was to be expected. Across the cafeteria Jeremy and I managed to acknowledge each other and give smiles of encouragement. While continuing to make small talk with Andre, I
had not noticed that Jeremy had disappeared and that pang of sadness was suddenly back.

Andre excused himself as he had to get back to Leslie and I followed on at a slower pace. There was little point in rushing to get back to a cold seat but I could see Jeremy was up ahead and I wanted to see him once more before going back into court. To make sure we were not seen communicating I stood behind a pillar away from everyone. I met Jeremy's gaze as he had been searching for me and I winked and smiled back. Then Andre, Leslie and the rest of the team disappeared with Jeremy back into the court while I settled down at my wooden bench. Other small groups also started to disperse leaving me in the cold silence.

Every so often I would get up and walk about to explore the corridors, looking through doors and wondering about all the legal issues taking place. Normally I was interested in history and architecture but I could not now appreciate the splendour of these courts and felt that they were bearing down on me.

To break up the afternoon I visited the cafeteria again for a warm-up. I took out my mobile to call work and to check on messages. I felt cheered that my close friends had sent me good luck messages. After I had finished my calls I made my way back to the big hall, looked through the window at Court 36 to see that everyone was packing up files and Jeremy was no longer on the stand. I felt elated that day one was out of the way and waited patiently for him to come out so that we could get home to our safe place.

As Jeremy came out of the court he walked quickly towards the way out and beckoned me over. He smiled and said, ‘I can't talk to you, I'm still giving evidence!' It was 4.30 p.m. and we were hurrying to avoid the full weight of the London exodus.

Once we found the car and jumped in before making our way home I asked him how it went, wanting chapter and verse, and I couldn't believe
it when Jeremy told me he was not going to tell me what had happened in the courtroom. How would anyone know what he had divulged and what did it matter? Andre had told him that the protocol was not to talk about anything to anyone while he was still giving evidence and in some ways I was quite impressed with Jeremy's resolve to adhere to this rule and not risk putting our case in jeopardy.

The only thing he told me was that most of the questioning was centred around the credit card transactions and his responses in the police interviews. It was quite astonishing that Challenger had made almost a day out of it and I was quite angered that the police were getting a second bite of this cherry. The CPS had thrown this part of their case out originally due to lack of evidence on the incitement charge but now they were picking the subject to pieces and trying to discredit Jeremy.

I also found out that Leslie had arrived at court that morning with a very bad cold and was suffering quite badly, having developed the initial symptoms overnight. What bad timing, I thought. However, while he and Andre were going through papers before the start of the trial Jeremy had offered to find a chemist and get something to help Leslie get through the day. When he had got to the pharmacist he had asked for the most potent drugs that were available without prescription and would help with the flu but would not render his barrister, who was just about to go into battle on his behalf, unconscious! Jeremy said he was horrified to see the state Leslie was in and had to make sure that his champion would make it through the day and not have to adjourn before we got started, especially after all these years. I felt immensely sorry for Leslie because if you felt that awful you just wanted to curl up under a duvet but I had to admire his resolve to soldier on. Andre and Leslie had fought for Jeremy all this time and they were not going to fall before they had started. Before we got on to discussing more mundane things, Jeremy added that he was not
impressed by Mr Justice Cranston and that he had not warmed to him as he had the other judges at the various hearings previously. Andre had said that in his experience you usually get a feeling as to how the judge perceives you and so I felt chilled by the fact that Jeremy thought Cranston ‘did not like us'. Jeremy backed this up by saying that the judge had not been as interactive as the other judges he had encountered at previous hearings. I said that he should not be so paranoid and that it was probably Cranston's style. I tried to be encouraging but I did have an uneasy feeling. I remembered the face of the magistrate at the old-style committal hearing once child pornography had been mentioned in the opening statements. Although exhausted, sleep had been hard to come by and was fitful. Once again on a dark winter's morning we forced ourselves to get up for round two, hoping that Challenger's cross-examination of Jeremy would finally be at an end.

We travelled together by train this time and got into London early for some breakfast before going on to the court. I had no appetite but struggled to eat some toast washed down with a cup of coffee. Jeremy was quite the opposite, tucking into a hearty breakfast which rapidly disappeared in front of me. I found it perplexing that he could eat whatever the circumstances, but I think it was more about having something to do, rather than sit in the café just staring at a cup of coffee to pass the time.

I had already been informed by Andre that he hoped that Jeremy's cross-examination would be finished that morning so that they could get me on the stand. Once this was done, I could then sit in on the rest of the trial rather than while away the hours in the corridors. Although I had wanted to be near to Jeremy the day before, if I had realised how inhospitable it was going to be hanging about outside the courtroom then I would not have come until today. As Jeremy ordered more coffee, I took the time to read over my statement. I knew my truth but I
looked at the pages as if it was for the first time because the words were barely sinking in. I don't know why I was panicking because the story had not changed in five years and the whole experience had been such a traumatic event it was unlikely that I would ever forget it. My stress was making me blind to the words as they merged into each other and so I thought it would be best just to put my statement to one side, relax and read the paper. There were far worse things happening in the world, after all!

We made our way to the Royal Courts of Justice where Jeremy disappeared into the courtroom to join Andre and Leslie, whereas I went back to the same place as I had been the day before. If only there was some sort of heating to give a bit of comfort, I thought, but then reminded myself that this was the home run. Approximately a couple of hours to lunch and then finally I would be granted access to share the warm of the courtroom and be with Jeremy. However, my hopes were dashed later on when it was found that George Fouhey had to give his evidence that day or not at all. It turned out that he had a hospital appointment that he had to keep the next day and, depending on treatment, might not be fit enough to return to the court.

I was sorely disappointed as I was still stuck on the outside, very bored, very cold and very nervous. Annoyingly, it also meant that Jeremy and I could still not be together. I was unable to tag along with Andre and Leslie for lunch as they were going back to Chambers, so there we were, two people who desperately wanted to be together, wandering about in painful isolation. Still, Jeremy had at least finished his part in the trial, his ordeal now being over.