Fit Up

by Faith Clifford

  I could hear Jeremy talking on the telephone from his office across the hall but not able to make out what he was saying. I was beginning to feel warmer and my uncontrollable shaking was reduced to a tremor but I could not be bothered to leave the comfort of my bedroom. If only I could stay here at this point in time with the tomorrows held at bay, I thought.

  Jeremy came to the doorway and said that Andre would like to speak to me. Although I wanted to remain in my duvet cocoon I managed to drag myself to the phone. ‘Hi, Andre,’ I said as brightly as I could muster. ‘Faith, I am so very sorry, I know how much this case meant to you both,’ he said. His voice was thick with emotion and sadness for me, which made me want to cry. I replied that I was grateful for the support he and Leslie had shown, that the result of the trial was not their fault and that they had done everything that they could and more besides. I was too numb to continue the conversation and said that I would contact him in a few days. Handing back the phone to Jeremy I returned to the bedroom, turned on the TV and stared at the flickering screen. A little while later Jeremy sat down by my side and said that Leslie had briefly examined Cranston’s draft judgment, and it was evident that a large percentage of it was incorrect in facts and law. He would be reading it in much more detail over the following days to see if it was possible that we could mount an appeal.

  Were we just grasping at straws? After five years of Hertfordshire Police in our orbit, should we just accept the outcome and somehow pick up our shattered lives?

  Christmas Eve arrived and we had to go to a Christmas concert at the Royal Albert Hall with our friends who were very excited and who tried to inject some spirit into the evening by suggesting we have a glass of champagne to toast the occasion. I forced a smile and tried to make jovial conversation, envying their happiness. However, they quickly realised that they were perhaps being a little insensitive and suggested we take our seats instead. I was relieved as I knew that they felt sorry for us and did not know what to say. As the entertainers sang joyful songs and Christmas carols, I felt none of the cheer and I just wanted to be home. I turned to Jeremy as the choir sang ‘Silent Night’ and could see his eyes brimming with tears. I squeezed his hand and my heart ached for him. I could see no bright future and the years ahead would be overshadowed by being financially punished for daring to call to account the deceit of an officer of the Hertfordshire Constabulary. I remembered Andre’s words at the end of the trial: ‘If there was any justice.’ Quite clearly, there wasn’t any.

  Chapter 42

  OUR OPTIONS

  We only had two options: sink or swim. If we did not try to fight, then we would be paying the defendant’s costs and lose all our personal money that we had already put into the litigation. However, there was the risk that if we were to go on to appeal we would be throwing good money after bad. The only positive factor at this stage by appealing was at least it would defer the courts asking us to pay Hertfordshire Constabulary, a pain too hard to bear both financially and emotionally.

  As we edged into January 2009 we looked to Andre and Leslie again to make sense of Cranston’s decision. Jeremy and I had been wondering if bankruptcy would be the best option for him because he did not feel he had the strength to continue to keep fighting the establishment. He doubted that any judge would find in his favour due to the subject matter and the fact that it would embarrass the police and government if we were to have a victory over Operation Ore. Andre, in preparation for failure of the appeal, had asked Jeremy how he would pay the litigation costs, whereby he had made it clear that if he was ordered to pay the police he would rather go bankrupt than let them have another penny.

  Cranston’s full judgment was obtained on 6 January and was written in such a way that it was going to be difficult to challenge. I did notice that several times he had referred to not having access to expert evidence and that he felt that he was at a disadvantage by not being able to see it. The fact that there had been hearings where other judges had ruled that this was not required because it was a case of who knew what when was obviously lost on Cranston. He accepted Hopkins’s evidence and considered there was no evidence to support Fouhey’s account, the Service Improvement Document, nor Grundy’s reply to Jeremy’s letter of claim. Worse, he found Jeremy’s evidence ‘implausible’. In summary, he had written that in his judgment no civil liability had arisen on the back of the evidence for malicious prosecution or misfeasance in public office. How on earth could we pursue the case? As strong as I had been these past few years, I felt shattered by it all. My ‘normal life’ had disappeared on 30 October 2003 and since then my marriage had involved police, solicitors and an endless tour of courtrooms.

  I put on a brave face at work to hide my private misery and let Jeremy pursue the legal stuff until that, in my opinion, would run out of steam. If he was going to bankrupt himself, what was another few thousand pounds for the litigation, especially when I was informed one evening that Leslie was considering appointing a QC to assist with the appeal. This was going the same way as the Gerard case where the big gun was rolled out, and here we were going down the same route.

  I learned that to appeal there must firstly be a written appeal direct to the judge that made the decision, which usually was refused. Then there would need to be a request for a hearing for leave to appeal and if this was granted and won, we could have a leave to appeal hearing. Then we would need to win this to get an actual appeal hearing in front of three judges. The whole thing seemed farcical and doomed for failure from my point of view, and it meant the investment of a lot more time and money.

  However, Andre submitted the written appeal to Cranston on 12 January and, as expected, this was dismissed by him. There quickly followed an application for a hearing for leave to appeal on 18 February, which was presented by Leslie. It described, step by step, the many errors that had been made, supported by substantial evidence from the bundles of the December trial. Andre had warned Jeremy not to get his hopes up as there was a minimal chance of getting leave to appeal given the fact that the majority of cases were usually rejected but it was still worth a shot as there was no other alternative for us.

  Miraculously, this was granted, and our legal team had to gear up for the next major round in what had become a full-on war. We had to keep our feet on the ground while we patiently waited for a date for the next hearing. Soon we were to find out that this would be on 1 April and I wondered who would be the fools – us or Hertfordshire Constabulary.

  Just over six weeks later Jeremy decided to go along and observe this major hearing and prepare himself for the worst. There was no reason to be optimistic with what he had been told and knowing that, historically, there were plenty of fallen appellants. He arrived at the court early as he wanted to sit in on the hearings before his slot to get a feel for how the judge operated. Any remnants of positivity soon dissipated as he watched Lord Justice Sedley, appearing quite bad-tempered, dismiss case after case. In despair, he called me at work to tell me what he had observed and that our efforts looked to be worthless. Normally I would be the one to offer words of encouragement and look for the good points but I could offer neither. Jeremy said Andre, Leslie and Patrick O’Connor (Paddy), the QC Leslie had appointed to lead the appeal, had arrived and that he should join them but would call me later. I put down the phone, just staring out of the window with a feeling of despair at the futility of it all.

  About an hour later Jeremy called and my stomach reacted with the churning feeling that I had come to know all too well. ‘Do you want to know what happened?’ he said. I didn’t, but to appease him, he was obviously waiting for me to say ‘yes’. To my absolute astonishment, which nearly made me fall off my chair, he told me we had won the hearing! My shock reaction this time was to burst into tears, which made Jeremy emotional too. Apparently it had taken only a few minutes of Paddy presenting his arguments before Jeremy had seen Sedley’s demeanour change and he had decided that there appeared to be a strong case for appeal because of the exis
ting evidence. We were over the moon at this turn of events but Andre, as ever, brought us back to earth by reminding us that it was a good result but there was still a long way to go. However, I thought that to mean preparation for court, not as in time, because the date announced for the actual appeal hearing was to be 13 November 2009, just over seven months away, and worse, it was a Friday! I was not normally superstitious but I would have preferred such a major event in our lives to be on a different date – not to mention a lot earlier. We were just coming into the beginning of spring and yet we would be in the throes of winter when we were next due to return to the High Court. Not a great place to be with its cold corridors.

  Chapter 43

  ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION

  When the order for the permission to appeal was granted it was written by Lord Justice Sedley that both parties should endeavour to settle the claim via mediation or other Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) before the full hearing of the appeal took place. This had to be arranged, otherwise if we turned up at the hearing having not gone down this route then the presiding judge would take a dim view.

  This was arranged for 29 May 2009 at Leslie’s chambers in Lincoln’s Inn Fields.

  Jeremy and I sat in a windowless conference room while Leslie and Andre met with Challenger and Grundy. They came to us with a document that Grundy wanted us to sign but, on looking closely at it, there were points that we could not agree to. With my laptop, I re-typed the document with the changes that Leslie wanted to make and then he disappeared. After what seemed like an eternity, we were then invited into the large, bright, airy room where Grundy and Challenger were seated at a table. Leslie and Andre sat opposite them while Jeremy and I took ringside seats behind them.

  Leslie was trying to negotiate a settlement for Jeremy rather than going through the appeal hearing but Challenger said that, as they had won, they were not honour-bound to offer anything. As a gesture of goodwill, he said, Hertfordshire Constabulary were willing to settle for £5,000 to be paid to a children’s charity and a written apology made to Jeremy for the distress that had been caused. Grundy looked at Jeremy with revulsion that she seemed to reserve for him at each encounter. Suggesting contributing to a children’s charity was nothing less than a pointed reference to the paedophilia charge, as well as an insinuation that he didn’t even deserve £5,000 for himself.

  Leslie politely declined but we were not at all surprised by the outcome. We had satisfied the court that an ADR had taken place without resolution and now we looked to our chances at the appeal hearing.

  Chapter 44

  CHALLENGER’S ARREST

  The months passed and soon we were in the height of summer. For us it had gone quiet on the litigation side as we waited for the appeal hearing date. Although not out of the woods, our case was, at least, still alive.

  It was a hot, bright sunny day, but I felt I was living under a perpetual dark cloud. However, in trying to achieve some perspective of my situation I kept reminding myself that there were many others in the world whose predicaments were far worse than my own and which made mine pale into insignificance. If we failed to win our case it would not be a good situation at all but we would still have our lives and hopefully be able to build a new future together.

  Just then, the phone rang and it was Jeremy. He was laughing and said that Andre had called to ask if we had seen the Daily Mail online. ‘You have to read it, Challenger has been arrested,’ he babbled excitedly. I brought up the article to be confronted with a picture of Challenger handcuffed and being helped up the steps into a police van by two police officers. He had turned around to look at the waiting photographers and it was the comical expression on his face that made me laugh, not to mention the grey unruly wisps of hair that tufted out from the sides of his otherwise balding head. He looked totally mortified and I hugely enjoyed his obvious discomfort and embarrassment.

  After savouring the picture for a moment I looked at the article to see how Challenger had got into this predicament. Apparently he was representing his client in a bankruptcy hearing and the victims of his client were accusing Challenger of delaying tactics when the case was adjourned. That didn’t surprise me as he had tried the same thing during our case.

  One woman, a Dr Sheida Oraki, was asked to leave the courtroom by the registrar and despite calls of restraint from another solicitor, the group continued to abuse Challenger in a side room while the court set a new hearing date. According to witnesses Dr Oraki’s husband confronted Challenger pointing his finger but Challenger had got to his feet, pushed Mr Oraki out of the door and locked it behind him. Challenger had then walked out of the court only to be arrested by police on suspicion of common assault. ‘You’re making a huge mistake,’ the article quoted him as saying and I laughed out loud imagining this protestation as he was pushed into the police van.

  A spokesman from Lamb Chambers said that it would be entirely out of character for Challenger to have lashed out. ‘We don’t know anything about it, we know it happened but we don’t know any details. He must have been provoked. We are still waiting to hear from him,’ they said. So this would be the one phone call that Challenger would be allowed to make. I chuckled, hoping that he was feeling the full discomfort, uncertainty and humiliation of his arrest.

  The article finished with a Met Police spokesman confirming that a man, believed to be in his fifties, was arrested at the Royal Courts of Justice at around 1.10 p.m. on an allegation of assault. Oh, come on! Challenger in his fifties? Not even back end! That was a stretch of at least a decade or he had had a very hard life! The alleged victim had been taken to hospital as a precaution. Blimey, that was some shove, I thought.

  This story was hot in the legal circles as the article was emailed to all and sundry. When I got home that evening Jeremy had set the photograph of Challenger’s moment of arrest as his screensaver, which always gave us a reason to smile.

  Chapter 45

  FRIDAY THE THIRTEENTH

  During that summer while waiting for the appeal hearing there was little communication with Andre and Leslie. This gave us the opportunity to revert to a more normal life of getting on with our jobs, enjoying family gatherings, revelling in the mundane and, more importantly, not thinking or talking about legal matters.

  However, those days were in the dim and distant past as we again entered the High Court on Friday 13 November and jokingly wondered if we were appearing in our own horror story with a bad ending. As we nervously waited in the corridor, I looked out of the large sash windows at the cold, dismal, grey sky that was a perpetual blanket of drizzle. The grimy net curtains clinging to the condensation running down the glass made me shiver, as did the arrival of Grundy, Challenger and their QC. However, I felt brighter as we joined Andre and Leslie, and for the first time I met with Paddy. With a big smile, he appeared jovial and very positive as he shook my hand. Jeremy asked me what I thought of him and I said that if he was Leslie’s choice then he must be a worthy advocate to fight our corner. With him by our side and three judges presiding instead of one, I much preferred the odds this time.

  Settling down in the courtroom with Paddy in row one, Leslie directly behind him, then Andre behind Leslie, with Jeremy sitting by his side and mirrored by the Hertfordshire Constabulary representation, I found myself alone in the public gallery. Not being able to hear any of the whisperings from my side, I felt rather isolated. However, when Challenger arrived Leslie could not contain himself. This was the moment he had been waiting for as he brought up the arrest incident back in July. I could not hear Challenger’s blustering response but I could see that he felt discomfort that the subject had been brought up.

  Then the time came for proceedings to commence and the three judges appeared to take their seats at a higher level to the rest of us. I suddenly realised that they held the power to dictate our future in the next few hours.

  Paddy stood up to present our case. There were interjections of questions from Lord Justice Dyson sitting in th
e centre, which prompted Leslie to write on a notepad which he held up for Andre and Jeremy to read: ‘They don’t get it.’ Jeremy turned round to me and shook his head, gently indicating that, from his point of view, we were on a hiding to nothing. Then the QC for the police stood up to present his arguments. His presentation was such that if he was acting for Jeremy I would have despaired. He appeared to lack conviction and belief in what he was saying and wandered around his bundle of papers with an air of uncertainty and hesitation which was in complete contrast to Paddy’s fierce determination and complete knowledge of Jeremy’s case. Yet again, although forensics were not the focus of the case, he was commenting on parts of the Fellows report which were not admissible in the main trial. Really, they had little argument, so why not do the next best thing, I thought, and use some salacious extracts from an inaccurate report to smear my husband further? I was beginning to feel despondent as he looked to have the judges in his awe. Challenger and Grundy, sitting behind him, appeared quite pleased with their QC’s handiwork.

  Then Lord Justice Dyson, staring hard at the police QC, momentarily turned to request confirmation from Paddy about the forensics, in that it had little relevance in this case bearing in mind that at previous hearings it was to be a case of what the investigating officer knew and when. Paddy confirmed that this was indeed the case, which made Leslie turn to smile at us as he was now happy that the judges were finally getting it. Two of them were talking to each other and flicking through their files, which I found very encouraging, then returning to Paddy to ask further questions. The QC for the police, realising that he was losing ground, tried to interject with his arguments but Lord Justice Dyson went quiet, pausing in thought.