Fit Up

by Faith Clifford

  In finalising his statement, Hopkins summed up the reasons for his believing that Jeremy had committed each of the offences: ‘There was the existence in the Tiny of the pornographic images of children found by Mr Fouhey.’ Fouhey never said that in any of his statements, and because Jeremy had given a no comment interview on the advice of his solicitor, Hopkins had assumed guilt.

  His take on Fouhey’s second statement on 21 December 2004 was that he passed this onto the CPS. If that were true he did not tell them the significance of the temporary internet folders because that is where the case would have folded, and Jane Stansfield, from the CPS, made no mention of this in her statement until mid-April 2005 when Fouhey made his third and final statement agreeing with Duncan.

  On the final page, Hopkins had signed his Statement of Truth. However, it was clear that someone had photocopied a compliment slip with IPCC details, insinuating that he is above suspicion because of his position.

  On reading and re-reading Hopkins’s statement, together with points brought up by Andre and Leslie, it was clear to us that there was a lot to question him about on the stand.

  Chapter 34

  WYN WILLIAMS HEARING

  ‘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.

  Chapter 35

  GRUNDY’S OFFER

  Just 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:

  We are not prepared at present to agree to such a meeting or mediation as we are not instructed to offer any payment of compensation to the Claimant. A meeting may be arranged if alternatives to compensation are an option for our client, e.g. if your client can contribute any suggested reforms to the police procedure that have not already been undertaken then his feedback would be welcomed.

  Any reasonable suggestions for resolution will be entertained. We can offer your client the opportunity to meet with officers and staff of the Hertfordshire Constabulary in an effort to improve his impression of this force.

/>   There is no doubt that there was a breakdown in communications between Mr Fouhey and DC Hopkins which led to three of the four charges being framed in terms which were wrong. There was not ever a chance that these three particular charges could stand up in court (although they were committed for trial by the magistrate without argument). In the end the CPS offered no evidence at a very late stage.

  The evidence available at point of charge unanswerably gave rise to reasonable suspicion that the claimant had committed child pornography offences. It is just that the misunderstanding between Fouhey and Hopkins meant that the wrong offences were charged.

  We now have expert evidence which, if true, demonstrates that the claimant was a serial child pornography offender. However, probably he offended only in the sense that he regularly subscribed to child porn sites, paid fees of US $10 or $20 and then viewed (there is no evidence that he downloaded) the child pornography images.

  We understand that there is always a litigation risk attached to any civil proceedings, however, we do not consider to be at substantial risk in this case as you have been unable to show any malice.

  We understand that your client is aggrieved that he has never received an apology regarding the criminal proceedings. We have drafted the terms of an apology as follows for your consideration.

  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:

  Please confirm:

  how your client reconciles this proposed apology with continuing to assert that Mr Clifford was/is (it is not clear) a paedophile?

  why your client would wish to meet/listen to the views of an alleged paedophile?

  why this apology/explanation was not offered when the claim was first threatened in July 2005?

  why this apology/explanation was not offered when the Particulars of Claim were re-amended in December 2007 when the issues were fully crystallised?

  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.

  Chapter 36

  THE TRIAL – 1 DECEMBER 2008

  That 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, t
rying 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.