00:00There were jubilant scenes when Tony Mockbell emerged out of these doors into a huge press
00:09pack and a crowd of supporters who were cheering as he made his way into a grey Mercedes, being
00:16driven by his brothers and driven off most likely to his sister's house where he's been
00:22bailed to.
00:23But effectively what we learnt today is that his lawyers were successful in arguing that
00:29there were exceptional circumstances that warranted his release from custody as he awaits
00:35more hearings related to the overturning of his drug convictions.
00:39And the reason for that appeal is that when they were recorded he was being represented
00:43by Nicola Gobbo who's now been unmasked as Lawyer X.
00:48So inside court it was pretty subdued, Tony Mockbell was pretty quiet, he was asked if
00:55he agreed to the conditions of his bail, he said yes, he said he swore he would abide
01:00by them and he's just emerged three hours later to a huge press pack.
01:06Effectively what the judges have said is that the risk of Tony Mockbell fleeing this time
01:12are pretty low.
01:13They said that, keeping in mind last time he was bailed was when he fled to Greece on
01:21a yacht via Bonny Doon and was caught a year later.
01:25But they said that wouldn't happen again, it's very unlikely to happen because he wants
01:28to see this appeal play out, he has a supportive family, he's entrenched in the community,
01:34he has a long term partner which is one of the more surprising details that we found
01:38out during these proceedings.
01:40So she said the risk of him absconding is very low and they also pointed to the fact
01:45that this appeal has legs, it's a good case that's been put forward, so those are the
01:52reasons why he's been released.
01:55But he's been released with very strict bail conditions, he'll have to stay at his sister's
01:59address, he'll be subject to GPS tracking, he'll have to comply with a curfew, he'll
02:06have to report to police once a day.
02:09So he's not exactly a free man but this is the first time that Tony Mockbell will taste
02:15freedom in about 18 years.
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