Crown Court - Just Good Friends (1973) - video Dailymotion

Jezza

Crown Court: the gripping courtroom drama from the 1970s and 1980s.  Not all uploads are visible from the UK: either use a VPN or go to @ jezthorpe on my Daily Motion channel. 🙂👍 An author is accused of blackmail after writing a book titled 'Just Good Friends?' in which he claimed that the close relationship between two eminent former MPs (one of whom has recently died) was of a homosexual nature.

Transcript

00:00:00The New York Times

00:00:02The New York Times

00:00:04The New York Times

00:00:06The New York Times

00:00:08The New York Times

00:00:10The New York Times

00:00:12The New York Times

00:00:14The New York Times

00:00:16The New York Times

00:00:18Guy Paget and Sir Richard Jeffcoat

00:00:20first met at Oxford in the 20s.

00:00:22They became close friends.

00:00:24It was a friendship that was to last over 45 years.

00:00:26They both served in the army together

00:00:28and after the war they both went into politics

00:00:30naturally in the same party.

00:00:32Guy Paget died last year

00:00:34and the loss affected Sir Richard deeply.

00:00:36Recently he was approached by Nigel Beaumont

00:00:38who claimed he was writing a book

00:00:40featuring the friendship of these two men.

00:00:42However, Sir Richard, now a famous politician,

00:00:44was horrified to learn that Beaumont intended

00:00:46putting an entirely different interpretation

00:00:48on this friendship.

00:00:50He claims that Beaumont threatened to publish the book

00:00:52unless he received the sum of £10,000.

00:00:54This demand was later increased

00:00:56to £15,000.

00:00:58It was at this stage

00:01:00that the police were called in.

00:01:02Today, Nigel Beaumont

00:01:04stands trial for blackmail.

00:01:06At the moment,

00:01:24Inspector Woods, a witness for the prosecution,

00:01:26is being cross-examined.

00:01:28Inspector Woods, I'd like to know exactly what Sir Richard said

00:01:32when he got in touch with the police on April 5th.

00:01:34He didn't get in touch with his ma'am.

00:01:36Then why did you become involved at all?

00:01:38Well, I was instructed to call on Sir Richard.

00:01:40I went to Fulbury Manor on the night of April 5th.

00:01:42And was Sir Richard expecting you?

00:01:44Oh no, I was instructed to call by the Chief Constable.

00:01:46Sir Richard had been dining with him earlier that evening.

00:01:48When we arrived, the house was in darkness.

00:01:50I later learned there were no servants in the house.

00:01:54Sir Richard took a considerable time in answering the door.

00:01:56It was so long, in fact, that I was on the point of forcing an entry

00:01:58when he finally arrived and opened up.

00:02:00As soon as he did, my sergeant and I immediately smelled gas.

00:02:04On investigation, we found that the doors and the windows of Sir Richard's study

00:02:08had been blocked and the room was full of gas.

00:02:10And what did Sir Richard tell you?

00:02:12Well, at first, Sir Richard was reluctant to say anything at all.

00:02:14He just kept on saying, there's no point, it's all over.

00:02:17He was very agitated and strung up.

00:02:19But later, once he'd calmed down, he laid evidence which led to the arrest of the accused.

00:02:23And that was?

00:02:24That on March the 25th, he was called on by a Nigel Beaumont to the accused.

00:02:29The outcome of that meeting being that Beaumont threatened to publish defamatory material

00:02:33and photographs concerning Sir Richard and the late Guy Padgett

00:02:36unless he was paid the sum of £10,000.

00:02:38Sir Richard paid over the money.

00:02:40I saw his bank statement confirming that fact and later obtained the cheque itself.

00:02:44Now, what happened after Sir Richard had shown you the bank statements?

00:02:47He told me that Beaumont had called on him earlier again that day on the morning of the 5th

00:02:51and asked for a further £5,000.

00:02:53He then told me the accused was staying at the Bell Hotel in Forchester.

00:02:56And you went there the same night?

00:02:57Yes, I did.

00:02:58Inspector Woods, when you arrived at Fulbury Manor and found the room full of gas?

00:03:02What did you do?

00:03:04Well, I opened all the doors and windows and then made sure that Sir Richard was all right.

00:03:08And was he?

00:03:09Yes, he was.

00:03:10Did you inquire why the study was full of gas?

00:03:13Did you ask for an explanation?

00:03:15Well, it was obvious why, ma'am, but in view of his overwrought condition,

00:03:18I thought it best to carry on the inquiry for the time being

00:03:21just to keep his mind on something else, as it were.

00:03:24While I was doing this, my sergeant phoned the chief constable and explained matters.

00:03:28He came straight over.

00:03:29Of course, if he hadn't, naturally, I would have tackled the matter of the gas with Sir Richard,

00:03:33but as it was, I left it to the chief constable.

00:03:35You felt it best that any advice or admonition should come from a friend rather than a stranger?

00:03:40Precisely, my lord.

00:03:41Still, I suppose you arrived at some conclusion yourself as to that gas-filled room.

00:03:46Yes, I did, my lord. Blackmail is a nasty and underhand business.

00:03:50It can drive a man to doing all sorts of things.

00:03:52I'm only glad that he arrived when we did.

00:03:55Inspector Woods, when you were told to call on Sir Richard, were you aware that something was wrong?

00:04:01Yes.

00:04:02And that was the reason why you considered forcing an entry when there was a delay in the door being opened?

00:04:07Yes, I suppose it was.

00:04:08A fear that you might have arrived too late to prevent a tragedy?

00:04:11Yes.

00:04:12So the smell of gas was not entirely unexpected?

00:04:16I wouldn't say that. It still came as a shock.

00:04:18Well, would half-anticipation more accurately describe your reaction?

00:04:22Yes, I suppose it would.

00:04:23Do you think this half-anticipation could in any way have coloured your interpretation of the facts?

00:04:28I don't understand what you're suggesting, ma'am. Facts are facts, plain and simple.

00:04:32Quite. But it's the interpretation of them that varies, don't you think, Inspector?

00:04:37Now, when Sir Richard finally opened the door, was he suffering from any effects of the gas?

00:04:41No, but then there wasn't that amount of gas.

00:04:43Oh!

00:04:44So you're saying now that the room wasn't full of gas?

00:04:47Not exactly full, no.

00:04:48Well, you really must get your evidence accurate, Inspector. It would save the court a lot of time.

00:04:53I'm sorry, ma'am, but at the time we didn't stop to consider that we should measure the amount of therms.

00:04:59And you found something else in the room.

00:05:02Something else, ma'am? I'm sorry, I'm...

00:05:04Wasn't there a dog lying dead in front of the gas fire?

00:05:07Oh, yes, yes, the dog. Yes, there was, but that has nothing to do with this case.

00:05:11Hasn't it? Do you happen to know who the dog belongs to?

00:05:14Sir Richard.

00:05:16And prior to that, to his close friend, Guy Padgett, with whom he shared the house.

00:05:20Inspector, did you ask Sir Richard about the dog?

00:05:23No, I didn't, my lord. I left that to the Chief Constable, as I said.

00:05:26Miss Tate, are these questions concerning the dog relevant to this case?

00:05:30Your lordship elicited the suggestion that Sir Richard was so upset about something that he attempted to commit suicide.

00:05:37I am endeavouring to correct that impression.

00:05:40Very well. Go on, please.

00:05:42My lord.

00:05:44Inspector, now the day you called on Fulchester Manor, was that April the 5th?

00:05:49Yes, it was.

00:05:50Were you aware that April the 5th was the anniversary of the death of his close friend, Guy Padgett?

00:05:54No, ma'am.

00:05:55Were you aware that earlier that day Sir Richard had visited the grave of his close friend and taken the dog with him?

00:06:01No.

00:06:02If you had known this, together with the fact that for a whole year this dog had been pining for its dead master,

00:06:09well, do you think this would have altered your interpretation of the facts?

00:06:12Miss Tate, I suppose you are suggesting that Sir Richard Jeffcott might have put the dog to sleep himself.

00:06:17Well, this witness knows nothing about that.

00:06:20And it is inadmissible for you to ask the inspector what his impression was as to the reason why that room was full of gas.

00:06:28My lord, firstly the room was not full of gas, and secondly it was your lordship who asked the inspector what conclusions he jumped to.

00:06:37And he said that he assumed Sir Richard had attempted to commit suicide.

00:06:42I am suggesting that the assumption was wrong.

00:06:45Very well.

00:06:46I was wrong to ask the inspector about his assumptions, but do you think now that we could close this topic, Miss Tate?

00:06:52Very well, my lord.

00:06:54Now you've told us, Inspector, that after leaving Sir Richard you went to the Bell Hotel to see the accused.

00:07:00Yes, I did.

00:07:01Did Mr Beaumont seem outraged or surprised at your visit at this late hour?

00:07:04Neither, I said.

00:07:05His attitude was quietly resigned, as I already said.

00:07:08His actual words were, oh dear, I've been half expecting you to turn up.

00:07:13I suppose that stupid old poof has accused me of blackmail or something.

00:07:16I see.

00:07:17And when you questioned him, he said that he'd called on Sir Richard and received a cheque for £10,000.

00:07:21Yes.

00:07:22And when you searched his room, you found Exhibit 1, which you describe as a mock-up of a book.

00:07:28Brief notes on the intended contents of each chapter and accompanying photographs.

00:07:32Yes.

00:07:33And you saw that the opening three chapters of this book were devoted to the lives of Sir Richard and Guy Padgett.

00:07:39Yes, there were also three other chapters concerning a Miss Stella Pickford and the late J.B. Garford, the millionaire.

00:07:44And did you yourself call on Miss Pickford?

00:07:46Yes, I did. I called on Miss Pickford to inquire if she too had been approached by the accused.

00:07:49And what did she tell you?

00:07:50She told me that she had been approached on March 26th, the day after Beaumont had initially called on Sir Richard.

00:07:57After streaming her promise that the book would not be published, Miss Pickford paid over the sum in cheque form of £10,000.

00:08:03But she took the precaution of post-dating the cheque.

00:08:06Did she say why?

00:08:07Yes, she did.

00:08:08She said that she wasn't going to be rushed into anything when she didn't wish to antagonise Beaumont.

00:08:14Inspector Woods, when you searched Nigel Beaumont's possessions, did you find amongst them two cheques?

00:08:19Yes, I did. One was from Miss Pickford, made out to the accused.

00:08:23And that hadn't yet been cashed. And am I not correct in saying that the other cheque was made out to Sir Richard for the sum of £10,000?

00:08:31Yes.

00:08:32And this cheque was signed by Mr Beaumont and dated the 4th of April?

00:08:35Yes, it was.

00:08:36Will you look at this cheque, Inspector, please?

00:08:39Exhibit three, my lord.

00:08:44Is this the one you found in Mr Beaumont's room, the one signed by him?

00:08:47Yes.

00:08:48Did you question him about it?

00:08:50Yes, I did. He said he'd offered it to Sir Richard, but he'd refused to accept it.

00:08:55So you found one cheque that hadn't been cashed, and another cheque refunding Sir Richard's money.

00:09:01Well, it's hardly the actions of a blackmailer.

00:09:04Did he explain why he'd offered to pay back the money?

00:09:07He said that his publisher had advised him to go ahead and publish, but Sir Richard had begged him not to and had increased his offer to £15,000.

00:09:13Nevertheless, Sir Richard did give Mr Beaumont a cheque for £10,000, and Mr Beaumont did give you an explanation as to why he was paid the money.

00:09:21Namely, that it was offered as compensation in lieu of expected royalties.

00:09:25That's what he said, yes.

00:09:26And it was an explanation that you chose to ignore.

00:09:31Were there any other people mentioned in this book?

00:09:34Yes, there were four more.

00:09:35And have the police contacted these four people?

00:09:38Two of them are dead, ma'am.

00:09:39Well, I imagine they still have relatives. Have they been contacted?

00:09:41No, ma'am.

00:09:42And the other two?

00:09:43No.

00:09:44So, out of six people mentioned in the book, the police have only bothered to contact two of them.

00:09:51Is this because they live in the Falchester area?

00:09:53Partly, but also because we have sufficient evidence from Sir Richard and Miss Pickford on their own.

00:09:57So, in fact, you don't know whether Mr Beaumont has received permission on behalf of the other people or not?

00:10:01No, ma'am.

00:10:03Thank you, Inspector.

00:10:05Inspector, when you first saw Nigel Beaumont, he told you he half expected a visit from the police?

00:10:11Yes, sir.

00:10:12I see.

00:10:13Now, this cheque he showed you, is there any way of telling when he wrote it?

00:10:17No, sir.

00:10:18So, he could have written it at any time?

00:10:20Yes, sir.

00:10:21Did you ask him whether he had any written agreement as evidence of this bargain he says he made with Sir Richard?

00:10:28Yes, I did, sir. He told me there wasn't one.

00:10:30A bargain involving £10,000 and an undertaking by Mr Beaumont not to publish, but no writing as evidence of it?

00:10:37Yes, sir.

00:10:38Thank you, Inspector.

00:10:39You are Sir Richard Jeffcott MP of Fulbury Manor, Fulchester and of 95 Queen Anne's Gate, London West 4.

00:11:05I am.

00:11:06Do you recognise the accused?

00:11:08Yes, he is Nigel Beaumont.

00:11:09And when did you first meet him?

00:11:11On March the 25th this year.

00:11:13He telephoned me the previous day to ask for an appointment.

00:11:16He told me he was writing a book about some of the long-lasting friendships of well-known people.

00:11:22He proposed to devote several chapters to Guy Padgett and myself.

00:11:26He asked if he might call and go through the material with me to see if I had any objections or could make any suggestions.

00:11:33On the telephone he sounded a perfectly personable young man and, well, I suppose in a way I was flattered that someone should consider the lives of Guy and myself worth writing about.

00:11:43So I agreed.

00:11:44And what took place of that interview, Sir Richard?

00:11:46Quite frankly, Mr. Lotterby, it's a day I only wish I could forget.

00:11:51However, it all started instantly enough.

00:11:54When Beaumont arrived, he asked if he could see over the house.

00:11:57As a matter of courtesy, I showed him run.

00:11:59He had a camera, asked if he could take one or two photographs.

00:12:03I agreed to this.

00:12:04He took several of my room and of the bedroom where Guy slept when he stayed at the manor.

00:12:10It was only later that I was to learn the meaning of these photographs.

00:12:14And what was that?

00:12:16Well, the rooms happened to be adjoining.

00:12:18Mr. Beaumont put his own interpretation on their close geography.

00:12:22What did he actually say?

00:12:24Well, nothing immediately. It all happened rather gradually.

00:12:27I suppose he must have thought me dreadfully naive not to have cottoned onto his game at once.

00:12:32After we'd been round the place, we went downstairs to my study.

00:12:36He brought out some old photographs of Guy and myself and asked if I could suggest captions for them.

00:12:43He let me go on for quite a while.

00:12:46Then he said he had some much better captions.

00:12:51I know you must be finding all this extremely distasteful, Sir Richard,

00:12:54but can you remember exactly what was said?

00:12:56Can you give us an example?

00:12:58Yes. Yes, I can.

00:13:00There was one photograph in particular.

00:13:02It had been taken of Guy and me at the Café Royal in 1945.

00:13:07My Lord, this photograph is to be found in Exhibit 1.

00:13:10The relevant page is marked, if the jury...

00:13:12Yes, of course. Bailiff.

00:13:14We'll carry on, Mr Lottabiff.

00:13:17Thank you, my Lord.

00:13:18Sir Richard, as the members of the jury look at this photograph, I'd like you to tell us exactly what was taking place when the photo was taken.

00:13:30Certainly.

00:13:31That was taken just after the general election of 1945.

00:13:36It was the first time either of us had stood for Parliament and we'd both scraped in by the skin of our teeth.

00:13:42When we met, I naturally slapped him on the back, gave him a dig in the ribs and probably called him a lucky dog or something like that.

00:13:48And how did Mr Beaumont construe the action in this photograph?

00:13:53He intended giving it the caption,

00:13:56Journey's end in lovers meeting.

00:13:59I see. And what was your reaction when he said this?

00:14:02Well, I must admit that at first I didn't take him seriously.

00:14:05I thought perhaps he just had an odd sense of humor.

00:14:08But when he continued to make obscene comments on the other photographs, well, then I realized he was serious.

00:14:16I was absolutely appalled.

00:14:18I just stood and stared as he made a fine friendship sound, well, filthy, dirty.

00:14:25Sir Richard, I'm sorry to ask this, but could you be more explicit?

00:14:29He was suggesting that there was a homosexual relationship between Guy and myself.

00:14:34I see. Thank you.

00:14:35Nothing could have been further from the truth.

00:14:37Sir Richard, what happened once you realized all this?

00:14:40Well, my first reaction was to take him by the scruff of the neck and throw him out.

00:14:44But he insisted on my listening to what he had to say.

00:14:47He told me that he already had a publisher, that the book would appear later this year.

00:14:53Whatever I did or said, I couldn't prevent this happening.

00:14:57And what was to be the title of this book?

00:15:00Oh, typical gutter press stuff. Just good friends with a question mark after it.

00:15:06I told him if it did appear I'd sue for libel.

00:15:09He just laughed at me and told me I'd ought to think about my career and the effect a scandal like this would have on my party.

00:15:15Unfortunately, he was right.

00:15:18I've seen this happen to too many public men.

00:15:21Whenever this sort of thing happens, mud sticks and he knew it.

00:15:26Did he suggest that there might be some alternative course?

00:15:29Oh, yes. Yes, he certainly did.

00:15:32The suggestion was that if he didn't publish his book, he'd lose a great deal in royalties.

00:15:37However, if I was to pay him 10,000 pounds, he'd forget all about publication.

00:15:43And so you paid him the money?

00:15:44After a great deal of argument, yes.

00:15:46I tried to get a written agreement out of him, but he told me I just have to trust him.

00:15:52My lord, I'd like to make one thing absolutely clear.

00:15:55I paid over this money not because I had anything to hide, but because I wasn't prepared to see the name of a fine man.

00:16:03A man who'd served his country well, smeared in any way.

00:16:06I just wanted that to go on record.

00:16:08I quite understand.

00:16:09Thank you, my lord.

00:16:11Can the witness see exhibit two, please?

00:16:17Is that the check you gave to Mr. Beaumont?

00:16:20Yes.

00:16:22When Mr. Beaumont left, did you feel that that was the end of the matter?

00:16:25Yes, I was stupid enough to believe him.

00:16:28And when did you next see him?

00:16:29On the morning of April the 5th, he called round unexpectedly.

00:16:34He said he'd been thinking matters over and he wanted another 5,000 pounds.

00:16:40This completely shook me.

00:16:43Perhaps for the first time I fully realized that I was in the grip of a blackmailer.

00:16:48I didn't know what to say or do.

00:16:50He told me he'd give me time to think about it and he left.

00:16:54The remainder of that day is almost a complete blank.

00:16:56I remember going for a walk.

00:16:59I vaguely remember dining with Colonel Roberts.

00:17:03I suppose I must have said something to him that resulted in the police calling on me.

00:17:08That day was probably the blackest of my life.

00:17:14Thank you, Sir Richard.

00:17:15How old are you, Sir Richard?

00:17:2265.

00:17:23And you've been a Member of Parliament for 25 years?

00:17:2628 years, actually.

00:17:28A long time.

00:17:29You're obviously a man of great experience.

00:17:31A man of the world, so to say.

00:17:34You could say that.

00:17:35Now this story, your story and that of Mr Beaumont, vary considerably.

00:17:40I'm sure they do.

00:17:42But if what you say is true, that Mr Beaumont threatened to publish his book,

00:17:46unless you paid him a large sum of money, then why didn't you,

00:17:50you being an experienced man of the world, a man of great privilege,

00:17:54why did you not go straight to the police?

00:17:57To the Chief Constable, your close friend?

00:17:59I thought I'd already given my reasons in detail, Miss Tate.

00:18:03Oh, you did, and they sounded most noble.

00:18:05But then, if you had something to hide,

00:18:08that would be a reason not for not going to the police.

00:18:11Yes, but that wasn't the case.

00:18:13I knew full well that if I brought this man to court,

00:18:16he'd do his utmost to smear my character.

00:18:18He traded on that knowledge.

00:18:20However guiltless a man may be,

00:18:22there are always those prepared to believe the worst of it.

00:18:24Well, you haven't always felt this, have you, Sir Richard?

00:18:27I don't think I follow.

00:18:28In 1967, a magazine planned to publish an article about Guy Paget and yourself,

00:18:34and amid a blaze of publicity, you threatened to sue for libel,

00:18:37and the article was consequently dropped.

00:18:39Now, is that not correct?

00:18:40Yes, but the circumstances were entirely different.

00:18:42Well, were you aware that Nigel Beaumont did most of the research for that article?

00:18:46He did mention it.

00:18:49Mr. Beaumont did tell you the name of his publisher, did he not?

00:18:53Yes, he did mumble some name at me.

00:18:55Oh, come, Sir Richard, he showed you a contract he had from them,

00:18:57at least that's what you told the police.

00:19:00Yes, now I come to think of it, he did show me something.

00:19:02Well, if you believe this book to be as salacious as you say,

00:19:05why did you not simply get your solicitor to write to the publisher,

00:19:09as you did in 1967 regarding the magazine article?

00:19:11Because by then I'd already paid him his money.

00:19:15I thought the whole thing was over and done with.

00:19:17I just wanted to forget the whole sordid incident.

00:19:20Well, do you often part so readily with £10,000?

00:19:23Of course not.

00:19:25He demanded his money there and then.

00:19:26I was given no chance to think about the money.

00:19:28Oh, really, Sir Richard, you know as well as I do that a book is not published overnight.

00:19:31And this one wasn't even written.

00:19:34You had plenty of time to take little steps to suppress this book,

00:19:39had you wanted to, had you been able to.

00:19:42I put it to you that at no time had this young man ever demanded money from you.

00:19:47More the reverse.

00:19:49You knew that if you brought an action for libel, the action would fail

00:19:53because the contents of the book were true.

00:19:55And so you tried to buy him off with £10,000 to compensate for his loss of royalties.

00:20:01No, no, that is an absolute lie.

00:20:03Is it?

00:20:05My lord, may the witness and the members of the jury see Exhibit 3.

00:20:14Have you ever seen this cheque before, Sir Richard?

00:20:16No, never.

00:20:17A cheque made out from Mr Beaumont to yourself for £10,000.

00:20:22Now, why should he want to pay back this money?

00:20:26I don't think he did want to.

00:20:28That cheque was never offered to me.

00:20:30It was simply a clever ruse to protect himself in case he got caught.

00:20:33Or was it that he offered to pay you back the money because he wanted to publish his book?

00:20:39And you offered him a further £5,000.

00:20:43I suggest that that is the true version of the story.

00:20:45You can suggest what you like, but the fact remains that that man is a blackmailer.

00:20:49That is something for the court to decide, Sir Richard.

00:20:52Quite so, Your Lordship, I apologise.

00:20:55Sir Richard, would I be correct in saying that Guy Padgett and yourself lived together?

00:21:00Oh really, my lord, I must protest.

00:21:02Miss Tate, did you mean what you said just then?

00:21:05Yes, my lord, I understand that Mr Padgett and Sir Richard shared a house together.

00:21:09Then that is what you should have said.

00:21:11Your choice of phrase is rather unfortunate.

00:21:13The words living together have a well-established innuendo.

00:21:16I think it would be better if you rephrased that question, Miss Tate.

00:21:21Very well, my lord.

00:21:23Sir Richard, did you and Mr Padgett share a house together?

00:21:27Yes, we did.

00:21:28It had been left to him some years ago.

00:21:30As it was quite close to the House of Commons, and as at that time I was living in Kensington,

00:21:35which as you know is somewhere away, he suggested that we shared the place.

00:21:38It was simply a matter of convenience.

00:21:40I see.

00:21:41And you also shared Fulbury Manor?

00:21:44Yes.

00:21:45His constituency was not far from here.

00:21:47It was simply a reciprocal arrangement.

00:21:49Then you must have spent a great deal of time together.

00:21:51Yes.

00:21:52In fact, most of the time.

00:21:53My lord, I really cannot see the relevance of these questions.

00:21:55I can, Mr Lotterby.

00:21:57Miss Tate is pursuing her suggestion that the witness volunteered the money

00:22:01because he feared that the libel action might fail.

00:22:04With respect, my lord, it is still blackmail for a person to ask for money

00:22:09to withhold publication of material that is not libelous.

00:22:12Therefore, the question of whether the information is true or not has no bearing on the case.

00:22:17It has a bearing on the case, Mr Lotterby,

00:22:19in that it provides the motivation for the defence's suggestion

00:22:23that Mr Beaumont did not demand the money, but that it was offered to him.

00:22:28Now, I have no wish to pry unnecessarily into the private lives of public figures,

00:22:32but I think I must let Miss Tate continue.

00:22:36As you wish, my lord.

00:22:37I'm obliged, my lord.

00:22:40Neither of you ever married, Sir Richard?

00:22:42No.

00:22:43Were you ever engaged?

00:22:45No.

00:22:46Was this because you disliked women?

00:22:48Certainly not.

00:22:49We both had a number of women, friends.

00:22:51But from a purely selfish point of view,

00:22:54marriage can often interfere with a man's career.

00:22:57It's bound to make certain demands.

00:23:00Unlike the friendship of another man?

00:23:02On the whole, I think the friendship between two men is less demanding, less emotional, yes.

00:23:07Yet you would, of course, deny that there was anything physical in your relationship with Guy Padgett.

00:23:12I most certainly would.

00:23:14And yet, in every photograph in Mr Beaumont's book, you seem to be in some sort of physical contact.

00:23:18You know, arms round each other, hands touching, that sort of thing.

00:23:21Footballers spend half their lives embracing one another, madam, but nobody goes about suggesting they're in love.

00:23:28Did you and Mr Padgett go on holiday together?

00:23:30On occasions.

00:23:32You each had a car.

00:23:33Did you insure them for one another to drive?

00:23:35Yes, but...

00:23:36Did you have a joint account at a well-known London store?

00:23:38Yes, that was almost entirely for food.

00:23:40Oh, so you shared the housekeeping costs?

00:23:42Well, there seemed little point in...

00:23:43I see.

00:23:44So you worked together, you went on holiday together, you lived in the same house, you ate together, you shared cars, you had a joint account.

00:23:50Do you know, one could almost be describing a married couple, don't you think, Sir Richard?

00:23:54No, I don't, I'm sure that this often happens.

00:23:57But I...

00:23:59I don't think the friendship between two men is the sort of thing that you would understand, madam.

00:24:04Guy and I, there was a bond between us, we were more than brothers, we...

00:24:10I could talk for a million years, you'd never understand how it really was.

00:24:14The depth between us, the...

00:24:17But he's gone, and I miss him.

00:24:24The case of the Queen against Beaumont will be resumed tomorrow in the Crown Court.

00:24:43Nigel Beaumont, a writer, stands accused of blackmail.

00:24:58He intended publishing a book exposing the private lives of Miss Stella Pickford and Sir Richard Jeffcott MP.

00:25:05Beaumont claims that he was voluntarily offered money not to publish.

00:25:09Sir Richard Jeffcott denies this.

00:25:11In evidence yesterday, he stated that Beaumont threatened to publish the story that Sir Richard and another member of Parliament,

00:25:17the late Guy Padgett, had a homosexual relationship.

00:25:20The price of his silence being £10,000.

00:25:23And that later, Beaumont demanded a further £5,000.

00:25:27In the box now is Miss Stella Pickford, the millionaires.

00:25:31She, too, claims to have been blackmailed by Beaumont.

00:25:34Why did you agree to see Mr Beaumont in the first place?

00:25:53He said he was writing a book about J.B. Garford, my late employer.

00:25:57As I was his personal secretary, he asked if he might come along and discuss one or two points with me.

00:26:02And I agreed.

00:26:04This was on the morning of March the 26th of this year?

00:26:07Yes, at 11 o'clock.

00:26:09And what happened at that interview?

00:26:10He began by discussing the life and career of Mr Garford.

00:26:14By he, you're referring to the accused, Nigel Beaumont?

00:26:17Naturally.

00:26:18From what he said, it was obvious that he'd done a great deal of research.

00:26:21It so happens that I act as trustee on a number of charitable trusts that are in Mr Garford's name.

00:26:29For several years, I'd been interested in having an official biography written about him.

00:26:34And as Mr Beaumont seemed to know so much about the background, I asked him if he'd consider the proposition.

00:26:40What was his reaction?

00:26:41He simply laughed in my face.

00:26:43He said I wouldn't approve one bit of the sort of book he was going to write.

00:26:47I asked him what on earth he meant.

00:26:49And it was then he told me what this book was really to be about.

00:26:53He intended to misconstrue the relationship between my employer and myself.

00:26:58I think it would be helpful at this stage, Miss Bickford, if you would tell the court what your relationship was with Mr Garford.

00:27:04Very well.

00:27:06I went to work for Mr Garford in 1934.

00:27:09I began as one of his secretaries and later I became his personal secretary.

00:27:13And in that capacity, I traveled with him all over the world.

00:27:17But when he was in England, because he did a great deal of his work from his home, I, in company with the rest of the staff, lived in.

00:27:25It was purely a business arrangement and continued after his marriage.

00:27:29In 1945, Mrs Garford died.

00:27:33J.B. then withdrew a great deal from public life.

00:27:37But it was always his wish to do something to help the young.

00:27:40And so I devised and worked out several charitable trusts for this purpose.

00:27:45But before they could be set up, he died.

00:27:50I've always thought, I've always thought that he made me his beneficiary.

00:27:54So that I could carry on with this work.

00:27:56And this I have done in his name.

00:27:59Yes.

00:28:00But I'm sure the court has heard of the many Garford trusts and charities.

00:28:04They're a fine memorial.

00:28:05Yes.

00:28:06A fine memorial to a fine man.

00:28:08J.B. had built up a business empire.

00:28:11His name was known throughout the world, known and respected.

00:28:14This is something I have worked to preserve.

00:28:16And this is what he intended to destroy.

00:28:19How?

00:28:20By suggesting that I was J.B. Garford's mistress.

00:28:23And had been since 1934.

00:28:26I'm going to expose him for the hypocrite that he was,

00:28:30and you for the whore that you are.

00:28:32Those were his very words.

00:28:34His mind is diseased, obscene.

00:28:38Usher, a glass of water now.

00:28:51Would you like a chair, Miss Pickford?

00:28:54No, thank you.

00:28:55I apologise for getting so emotional.

00:28:59Very well, Mr Larterby.

00:29:00Carey on.

00:29:01Much obliged, my lord.

00:29:02Miss Pickford, did the accused say how he proposed substantiating these wild accusations?

00:29:08Of course he couldn't substantiate them.

00:29:10There was never anything between Mr Garford and me.

00:29:12But he had been clever.

00:29:14Really diabolically clever.

00:29:16He'd managed to collect some old press photographs,

00:29:18and some personal photographs.

00:29:20How? I don't know.

00:29:21And most of these he had doctored in some way.

00:29:23How do you mean doctored?

00:29:25He'd cut out certain people.

00:29:27In several of them, it looked as if Mr Garford and I were alone.

00:29:30Whereas, in fact, there were a number of other people present.

00:29:33My lord, I've had copies of the photographs in Exhibit 1 taken.

00:29:37If the witness and members of the jury could see them.

00:29:40Yes, yes, of course.

00:29:50Do you have them, Miss Tate?

00:29:52Yes, my lord.

00:29:53Now, the first photograph entitled Honeymoon Love Nest for Three.

00:29:59That title would seem to suggest that the three of you went on honeymoon together.

00:30:02Would that be correct?

00:30:03Certainly not.

00:30:04I was there together with the cook, the butler, the chauffeur, and Mrs Garford's maid.

00:30:10But, of course, they've been cut out of the picture.

00:30:12I see.

00:30:13Honeymoon Love Nest for Seven doesn't sound quite so sensational, does it?

00:30:17No.

00:30:18And the next photograph, there's the caption,

00:30:22An intimate dinner for two.

00:30:25This was taken at Ketner's in 1943.

00:30:28On the other side of Mr Garford was Mrs Garford,

00:30:31and sitting next to me was Mrs Garford's brother.

00:30:34But they too, like in the other photograph, have been cut out.

00:30:38Yes.

00:30:39Well, I don't think we need to go on any further with these.

00:30:42Did Mr Beaumont make any other allegations?

00:30:45No plenty.

00:30:46His twisted mind had been working overtime.

00:30:48He not only accused me of being J.B. Garford's mistress,

00:30:51he also said that I'd had a hand in Mrs Garford's death.

00:30:57What?

00:30:58Yes.

00:30:59So you can see the kind of man I found I was up against.

00:31:03Yes.

00:31:04Do you think he really believed these things?

00:31:06No, of course not.

00:31:07It was merely a means of applying pressure.

00:31:10The blacker the story, the more money he hoped to extort.

00:31:13And how much money did he demand?

00:31:15Ten thousand pounds.

00:31:17And was this demand accompanied by threats?

00:31:19Yes.

00:31:20To publish this book.

00:31:21And so you paid him?

00:31:22No.

00:31:23Now perhaps you could explain, Miss Bickford.

00:31:26Certainly.

00:31:27I wasn't going to pay money to this blackmailer.

00:31:30So, to get rid of him, to make him feel he'd succeeded,

00:31:34I made out a post-dated cheque.

00:31:36And then when he'd gone, I rang up my bank and cancelled it.

00:31:39So all he was going around with was a perfectly worthless piece of paper.

00:31:43Oh, I knew he'd be back.

00:31:44But by then, I should have been waiting for him with the police.

00:31:48Thank you, Miss Bickford.

00:31:54Miss Bickford, would you describe your status as that of a millionairess?

00:32:00Yes.

00:32:01A multi-millionairess?

00:32:03Yes.

00:32:04That's quite an achievement for a personal secretary, wouldn't you say?

00:32:08As you said, it's merely a status.

00:32:10I was purely the instrument in furthering Mr. Garford's charitable works.

00:32:15The fringe benefits included homes in the south of France,

00:32:20Rome, Switzerland, Bermuda, Long Island, and two in this country.

00:32:25I'm sure you must be an inspiration to all personal secretaries, Miss Pickford.

00:32:30Now, you did say that your relationship with J.B. Garford was purely a business one.

00:32:35I did.

00:32:36Yes, that's what I thought you said.

00:32:37And yet in 1937, there was an announcement of your engagement to J.B. Garford.

00:32:42Now, was this also a business arrangement?

00:32:44No.

00:32:45What I meant was, well, I think that most secretaries at some time or other

00:32:50imagine they're in love with their boss.

00:32:52It's only a temporary situation.

00:32:54And as soon as I found out it was only a passing infatuation,

00:32:57the engagement was broken off.

00:32:59Was J.B. Garford a handsome man?

00:33:01Very.

00:33:02Attractive to women?

00:33:03Certainly.

00:33:04And two months later, after the engagement was called off, he married an American millionairess?

00:33:10Yes.

00:33:11And you still went on working for them?

00:33:13Yes.

00:33:14Did you not feel any jealousy towards this woman who had married your boss?

00:33:17Of course not.

00:33:18I imagine she must have been very beautiful.

00:33:21As a matter of fact, she was exceedingly plain.

00:33:23Then perhaps her money made her more attractive in Mr. Garford's eyes.

00:33:28I understand they slept in different rooms.

00:33:31People often did, then.

00:33:33And as someone who slept in the same house, I believe Mr. Beaumont asked you to confirm this.

00:33:37He did.

00:33:38And suggested that Mr. Garford spent every night in my bed.

00:33:41Yes, well, we'll come to that later, Miss Pickford.

00:33:44Thank you, Miss Pickford.

00:33:45Now, my learned friend has shown you photographs from Mr. Beaumont's books.

00:33:48And you say that these have been doctored?

00:33:51They have.

00:33:52By Mr. Beaumont?

00:33:53Obviously.

00:33:54My lord, might the witness and the members of the jury see the originals of these photographs?

00:33:59They can easily be detached.

00:34:01Would it not be simpler to pass the book itself, Miss Tate?

00:34:04No, my lord.

00:34:05It's the back of the photographs that I want everyone to see.

00:34:08They're only attached by photomounts and the page is marked.

00:34:11Very well.

00:34:22Miss Pickford, can you see the backs of these two photographs quite clearly?

00:34:26Yes.

00:34:27Then you will see that each one bears the rubber stamp of the photo library of a national newspaper.

00:34:33They are as Mr. Beaumont received them.

00:34:36Yet you claimed he doctored them by cutting certain people out.

00:34:41Well, in that case, they must be done by the newspapers concerned at the time.

00:34:45But not by Mr. Beaumont.

00:34:46He was not even born at the time.

00:34:51Do keep them for a moment, please, Miss Pickford.

00:34:55I'd like you to read the captions on the back of each photograph.

00:35:00Honeymoon lovenest for three.

00:35:04An intimate dinner for two.

00:35:05So they were not Mr. Beaumont's captions after all.

00:35:09He was merely stating something that had already been published.

00:35:13Well, wasn't he?

00:35:14I wasn't to know that, was I?

00:35:17Unless you'd seen them for yourself.

00:35:19I had not.

00:35:20Miss Pickford, you told my learned friend, and I quote,

00:35:25he even accused me of having had a hand in Mrs. Garford's death.

00:35:29That's right.

00:35:30He did.

00:35:31And you say that this was a product of Mr. Beaumont's twisted imagination.

00:35:34But surely, he was only repeating an accusation that had been made by someone else.

00:35:39No.

00:35:40He accused me directly.

00:35:41Well, am I not right in saying that in 1946,

00:35:44Mrs. Garford's brother, during a civil action contesting his late sister's will,

00:35:50made these selfsame accusations?

00:35:53Oh, that.

00:35:54Well, he soon apologised.

00:35:56Indeed, he did.

00:35:58And now I put it to you again, Miss Pickford,

00:36:00that Mr. Beaumont did not make the accusations himself,

00:36:04but was merely reminding you of this incident.

00:36:07No.

00:36:09When did you actually put a stop on the cheque?

00:36:12Just after he'd gone.

00:36:14Ten minutes? Fifteen minutes?

00:36:15About that.

00:36:16Then why on earth did you bother to post date it?

00:36:19I didn't want to act on the spur at the moment.

00:36:21I wanted to give myself time to think.

00:36:23But when he'd gone, I thought it best to cancel the cheque straight away.

00:36:27You sure you didn't post date it for Mr. Beaumont's benefit,

00:36:29it being so near the new tax year?

00:36:31For his benefit?

00:36:33Certainly not.

00:36:34When Mr. Beaumont telephoned and asked to see you for a second time,

00:36:37had you any idea why he wanted to call on you?

00:36:39It was quite obvious.

00:36:41He wanted more money.

00:36:42And you immediately contacted the police?

00:36:45I didn't have to.

00:36:46They called on me.

00:36:47But not until several days after the phone call, Miss Pickford.

00:36:52I suggest it was never your intention to call the police.

00:36:56I beg your pardon, Miss Tate.

00:36:58But it was.

00:36:59Then why did you not do so straight away?

00:37:01Was it because you had nothing to complain about?

00:37:04Or was it because Nigel Beaumont had never made a demand for money?

00:37:08You're surely not suggesting that I made out a cheque to him for £10,000 of my own free will.

00:37:15To let sleeping dogs lie?

00:37:17It could be quite a low price for a multi-millionairess.

00:37:21My dear young woman,

00:37:23I have been in business quite long enough to recognise his sort.

00:37:26This isn't the first time I've been blackmailed, you know.

00:37:29That concludes the case for the prosecution, my lord.

00:37:50Very well, Miss Tate. When you're ready.

00:37:53Thank you, my lord.

00:37:55For my first witness, I call Andrew Parry.

00:37:58Andrew Parry, please.

00:38:02Come this way, sir, please.

00:38:12What is your religion?

00:38:14Hmm? Church of England.

00:38:16Take the book in your right hand and read aloud the words on the card.

00:38:19I swear by almighty God that the evidence I shall give shall be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

00:38:25You are Andrew Parry, the managing director of Prime Publications and you live at Flat 4, Archie Mews London.

00:38:31That's right.

00:38:32How long have you been a publisher, Mr. Parry?

00:38:34For more years than I care to remember.

00:38:38About 25, actually.

00:38:40So you must have had a great deal of experience.

00:38:43In publishing, yes.

00:38:44But when this sort of thing happens, one realises how pitifully little one knows about people.

00:38:48How do you mean, Mr. Parry?

00:38:49Well, I mean, take this dear boy here.

00:38:51If I hadn't persuaded him to visit Miss Pickford and Sir Richard, he wouldn't be standing where he is now.

00:38:55If I'd known they were going to make these dreadful allegations against him, well, I wouldn't have let him near them.

00:39:00It wasn't necessary.

00:39:01I just thought it polite they should know about the book.

00:39:04I mean, we didn't want them throwing injunctions all over the place, did we, at the last minute?

00:39:10But nothing.

00:39:11No word of complaint from them.

00:39:13No irate telephone calls, solicitors' letters.

00:39:16Nothing.

00:39:17Just this.

00:39:18It appalls me how devious some people can be.

00:39:21Are you saying, Mr. Parry, then, that Mr. Beaumont visited Miss Pickford and Sir Richard on your behalf?

00:39:27Well, not exactly.

00:39:29My advice, certainly.

00:39:31Mr. Parry, I think it would help the court if you were to explain to them how you come to meet Mr. Beaumont and what happened from then onwards.

00:39:38Oh, yes, of course.

00:39:39I'm afraid I've been rather racing ahead.

00:39:42Well, I've known Nigel now, casually, for about three years, I suppose, the odd word, at a party, that sort of thing.

00:39:50And three months ago, he called at my office and said that he was preparing a book he thought I might be interested in.

00:39:55Well, when he told me the idea, I was completely sold on it.

00:39:58I realised straight away we had a potential bestseller in our grasp.

00:40:02Were you worried about the possibility of libel?

00:40:04Well, yes, of course.

00:40:06One always is in publishing.

00:40:07I told him to go through his source material with a fine-tooth comb to check and double-check.

00:40:12Mr. Parry, I'd like you to look at this book, please.

00:40:21Have you ever seen it before?

00:40:22Oh, yes, of course.

00:40:23And it was on this format that Nigel Beaumont was to write his book.

00:40:28Was?

00:40:29I sincerely trust he still is.

00:40:31Quite.

00:40:33So that manuscript was to be the basis of Mr. Beaumont's book, and he'd signed a contract for it to be published.

00:40:39Yes.

00:40:40It wasn't just pie in the sky.

00:40:43By no means.

00:40:45Take my word for it, Miss Tate.

00:40:47This book will be a bestseller.

00:40:49And as a publisher of many years' experience, that's your considered opinion.

00:40:53Yes.

00:40:54Mark you.

00:40:56The idea won't appeal to everybody.

00:40:58No.

00:40:59Now, you said that Mr. Beaumont called on Sir Richard and Miss Pickford on your advice.

00:41:04Yes.

00:41:05To feel out the lie of the land.

00:41:06See if they were going to make a fuss.

00:41:08That sort of thing.

00:41:09And did you go with him?

00:41:10No.

00:41:11Far too busy.

00:41:12It's a pity I didn't, though.

00:41:14I feel he was too soft-hearted with them.

00:41:16They obviously took advantage of him.

00:41:18How do you mean?

00:41:19Well, when he came back from London, I didn't see him for a few days.

00:41:24He was deliberately trying to avoid me.

00:41:26Trying not to tell me that there was going to be no book.

00:41:29Well, he was full of apologies, of course.

00:41:32And told me how they'd told him that their lives would be ruined if he published the book.

00:41:37And how later on that they'd offered him money not to write it.

00:41:41Well, he felt sorry for them.

00:41:43Accepted the money and, well, I suppose it was sort of compensation.

00:41:47He told you all this at the time?

00:41:49Yes.

00:41:50He even wanted me to take part of it to defray my expenses.

00:41:53I called him all the fools under the sun.

00:41:55Why?

00:41:56Well, quite frankly, I feel he'd been soft-soaked.

00:41:59I told him so.

00:42:00And did he agree?

00:42:02No.

00:42:03We had quite an argument about it.

00:42:05But when I pointed out that his royalties would come to at least double the sum that he would receive from them.

00:42:11Really?

00:42:12As much as that?

00:42:13Oh, yes.

00:42:14With money from television, magazine interviews, that sort of thing.

00:42:18And, plus, the most important thing of all, the public keen for a second book.

00:42:23And what was his reaction?

00:42:25Well, he realized how foolish he'd been to accept their offer.

00:42:29And there was nothing in writing, so I told him to hand the money back and say the deal was off.

00:42:33I was there when he wrote the cheque to Sir Richard.

00:42:35And can you remember what day that was?

00:42:37The 4th of April.

00:42:39So, on the day before Nigel Beaumont returned to Fulchester, he made out a cheque to Sir Richard Jeffcott in your presence.

00:42:46Yes, he did.

00:42:47Thank you, Mr. Parry.

00:42:49From what you've said, Mr. Parry, I imagine all this has come as a bit of a shock to you.

00:42:53Yes, of course.

00:42:54Why?

00:42:55Well, I should have thought that had been obvious.

00:42:57One moment I'm in the middle of preparing a book for publication.

00:43:00The next minute I'm involved in a trial for blackmail.

00:43:03Had you never considered the possibility of this happening?

00:43:05Well, no.

00:43:07I know Nigel far too well to think he could do a thing like that.

00:43:10But I thought you'd only met him properly three months ago.

00:43:14Yes, but when you work with someone, you get to know them, don't you?

00:43:18I'm asking you, Mr. Parry.

00:43:20And it seems you're prepared to believe a man implicitly after only knowing him for three months.

00:43:25Didn't it ever occur to you that Mr. Beaumont might not be telling the truth?

00:43:29No.

00:43:30I see.

00:43:32Now, you say you told Mr. Beaumont to go through his source material with a fine tooth comb.

00:43:37Yes.

00:43:38Did you check it yourself?

00:43:40No, I left him to do that.

00:43:42My words, you really are a...

00:43:44You really are a trusting soul, aren't you, Mr. Parry?

00:43:47As the publisher, you could have been involved in libel cases that could have cost you a fortune,

00:43:51perhaps even lost you your business.

00:43:53Yet you place your entire future in the hands of a man you've only known for three months.

00:43:57Well, I find that very hard to believe.

00:44:00Unless, of course, you never intended to publish that book at all.

00:44:04You're talking about...

00:44:06Of course we're going to publish.

00:44:08I've got a contract with Beaumont.

00:44:09I can produce it if you like.

00:44:11And as for the other matter, well, all books are read for libel after they're finished and before they're printed.

00:44:16What rights did you acquire in this contract, Mr. Parry?

00:44:20All rights.

00:44:21All?

00:44:22What do you mean?

00:44:23The hardback rights for Britain, America, Commonwealth, plus the paperback rights?

00:44:28Yes.

00:44:29My, you did do well, didn't you?

00:44:31And in percentage terms, what precise royalty was Mr. Beaumont to receive?

00:44:35My Lord, I really cannot see that going into the details of this contract can be of any value whatsoever.

00:44:40Then perhaps Mr. Lotterby can enlighten us.

00:44:43I shall try, my Lord.

00:44:44I submit that only by knowing Mr. Beaumont's anticipated income can the court properly assess whether or not it was more worthwhile for him to blackmail the people he was going to write about.

00:44:53Yes, of course, Mr. Lotterby, a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.

00:44:57But I take your point.

00:44:58You can continue.

00:44:59Thank you, my Lord.

00:45:00Now then, Mr. Parry, you were about to tell us what Mr. Beaumont's royalty of the book was to be.

00:45:05Since you must know, seven and a half percent.

00:45:08Seven and a half percent?

00:45:09No more than that.

00:45:10Well, it was his first book.

00:45:12Ah.

00:45:13And for how much would you have sold this book?

00:45:16A pound?

00:45:17One fifty?

00:45:18One fifty?

00:45:19How many copies would you have had printed?

00:45:22Sixty thousand?

00:45:24Sounds an awful lot, but I'll take your word for it.

00:45:28Ah.

00:45:29That's in this country alone.

00:45:31That would be more than double that in America.

00:45:34Ah, I see.

00:45:35The American edition.

00:45:36So, printing altogether three times sixty thousand.

00:45:39Well, that's a hundred and eighty thousand.

00:45:41That would bring in, providing every copy sold, um, two hundred and seventy thousand pounds.

00:45:48And Mr. Beaumont would receive...

00:45:50Yes, well, he'd receive about twenty thousand two hundred and fifty pounds.

00:45:55My arithmetic is more or less correct, isn't it, Mr. Parry?

00:45:59Well, I'll take your word for it.

00:46:01But you told my learned friend that Mr. Beaumont could expect royalties of at least forty thousand pounds.

00:46:06Well, yes, he could in the end with the second edition and paperbacks.

00:46:12Oh, by the way, had you actually signed a contract with this American publisher?

00:46:17Well, um, not exactly. We'd come to an agreement.

00:46:20Oh, but had you signed a contract?

00:46:22Well, I mean, the book wasn't written yet. We had an agreement in principle.

00:46:26That might or might not have materialized.

00:46:28Did this also apply to the British distribution?

00:46:31Well, naturally, if the book isn't written.

00:46:34So what you're saying is not that Mr. Beaumont would have received twenty thousand two hundred and fifty pounds in royalties,

00:46:39but only that he might have received it, and then only if the first edition had sold out.

00:46:45I'm certain that in the end he would have received at least forty thousand pounds.

00:46:49No, Mr. Parry, it was only a vague possibility.

00:46:52But the twenty thousand pounds he induced Miss Pickford and Sir Richard to part with,

00:46:58now that was a reality. There was something concrete.

00:47:01I don't agree. He knew that he would make more money from the book.

00:47:05It is, of course, in your interests, isn't it, that Mr. Beaumont should retain his liberty,

00:47:10otherwise you wouldn't get that book, would you?

00:47:12Well, I want the book, certainly.

00:47:14Does it matter enough to you to lie for him?

00:47:19Who do you think I am?

00:47:21I have my feelings and integrity like other people, you know.

00:47:25I take publishing seriously. I'm not just in it for the money, you know.

00:47:29Aren't you?

00:47:31Mr. Parry, your company, has it been in existence long?

00:47:35Two years. I've had other publishing companies. It's just a change of title.

00:47:40Yes, you previously owned Andrew Parry Publications, I believe.

00:47:43Yes.

00:47:44And this company went into voluntary liquidation in 1970.

00:47:48Yes.

00:47:49You're not a big publisher, are you, Mr. Parry?

00:47:52Compared to some we are.

00:47:55We're not one of the major publishing houses, if that's what you mean.

00:47:59With a staff of only four, no, you could hardly be classed as a major publisher.

00:48:03What sort of books do you handle, Mr. Parry? Fiction? Travel?

00:48:07Non-fiction, mostly.

00:48:09Such as the Marquis de Sard's Forbidden World, Perversion Through the Ages,

00:48:1469 Sex Games for You, and Memoirs of a Call Girl.

00:48:19Well, they may not appeal to your taste, Mr. Lotherby, but it's what the public want these days.

00:48:24And you most certainly provide it, don't you, Mr. Parry?

00:48:27Well, if I don't, someone else would.

00:48:30There's nothing wrong with that, is there?

00:48:32Is there?

00:48:33I mean, there's a lot of money to be made out of.

00:48:36Well, I don't write the stuff, do I?

00:48:38The case of the Queen against Beaumont will be resumed tomorrow in the Crown Court.

00:49:03In the trial of Nigel Beaumont for blackmail, the accused is now to give evidence on his own behalf.

00:49:19Sir Richard Jeffcoat and Miss Stella Pickford have both stated that Beaumont demanded and obtained £10,000 from each of them

00:49:26under the threat of exposing details of their private lives in a book he intended writing.

00:49:32Under cross-examination, Andrew Parry, Beaumont's publisher, has now admitted that his small company has only been in existence for two years,

00:49:40and that he mainly publishes books of a pornographic nature.

00:49:47And by profession you're a writer?

00:50:01Yes.

00:50:02When did you first consider writing this book?

00:50:05In June 1967.

00:50:07A long time in preparation.

00:50:09Was it your own idea or did someone else suggest you write it?

00:50:13Well, both really.

00:50:15Initially the idea came from the magazine that I was working for.

00:50:18They planned to do a series of articles on well-known people.

00:50:21Unfortunately there was a legal case.

00:50:23The articles were abandoned and shortly after that the magazine folded up.

00:50:27I went through my research material and realized that it should be turned into a book.

00:50:31I see.

00:50:32Now let's come to the all-important question.

00:50:35Why?

00:50:36Why did you decide to write this book?

00:50:38Well, that's not a, um, simple answer I'm afraid.

00:50:42Then take your time, Mr Beaumont.

00:50:44It's essential that the court can understand what initially motivated you to write this book.

00:50:49People of my age, we think differently from the older generation.

00:50:54We want to know the truth about things because we're prepared to accept the truth.

00:50:59If there's one thing my generation can't stand, it's hypocrisy.

00:51:02You see, today, well, for example, take a pop star.

00:51:06If he's living with someone, he'll admit it quite openly.

00:51:09He won't try to cover it up and say, we're just good friends.

00:51:13Well, that's sort of what we've been brought up with.

00:51:16You mean your generation demands honesty?

00:51:18Yes.

00:51:19And here I had the true stories of six people.

00:51:22Well, not the sugar-coated cant that's normally printed about them, but the real truth.

00:51:27You see, here were six people that my generation had been brought up to respect, to even emulate.

00:51:33And I felt I had to explode this sacred myth and show them for what they really were.

00:51:38Just ordinary people, with ordinary failings like everyone else.

00:51:42You know?

00:51:43So it was a desire for truth that prompted you to write the book?

00:51:46Oh, well, that makes it sound a bit noble.

00:51:50No, I think quite simply that I saw the chance of making studies of six people in depth,

00:51:55and for once without somebody telling me what I could or could not say.

00:51:59I think that's it, really.

00:52:01Now, when you started in 1967, was it necessary for you to gather more material?

00:52:05Oh, yes.

00:52:06What I had at the time was sufficient for a magazine article, but not for a book.

00:52:09Most of my research had been on Sir Richard and Miss Pickford,

00:52:12but I wanted to cover the whole spectrum of so-called friendships throughout the 30s and 40s.

00:52:17I needed another four biographies, and that's what took the time.

00:52:20In these early stages, did you consider the amount of money you might have made from the book?

00:52:24No.

00:52:25Oh, I knew that if the book sold well, I'd make some money, but, well, to begin with,

00:52:29I didn't even know that I'd get it published.

00:52:31Now, did it at any time enter your head to use the material you'd acquired for the purpose of blackmail?

00:52:37No.

00:52:38Never.

00:52:39Was it your idea to visit Miss Pickford and Sir Richard?

00:52:43No.

00:52:44Quite frankly, I didn't want them to know about the book at all.

00:52:47I'd already seen what had happened when Sir Richard got wind of the magazine article,

00:52:50and I thought the same thing might happen to Andrew, er, Mr. Parry, and that the book would be suppressed.

00:52:55Nevertheless, you did go.

00:52:56Yes.

00:52:57Andrew convinced me that the sure way of preventing this from happening again was to show them the source of the material that I was going to use,

00:53:04so that they couldn't claim that it was libelous in any way.

00:53:07Ah, now that was the reason you showed the photographs to them.

00:53:09Yes.

00:53:10Well, most of them were photographs that had already appeared in the press,

00:53:13and neither of them raised any objection at the time.

00:53:16I see.

00:53:17Now, I'd like to deal with the interview you had with Sir Richard, the first interview.

00:53:21After you'd shown him the photographs, what happened then?

00:53:24Well, he got very angry, and he threatened me with libel actions and injunctions, that sort of thing.

00:53:30And then?

00:53:31Well, when he realised he wasn't getting anywhere, he began to plead with me.

00:53:36He said I'd be ruining his career.

00:53:38That Guy Padgett had fought for his country, and that no one understood how beautiful the friendship between two men could be, and...

00:53:49Well, you know.

00:53:51Mr Beaumont, we do not know.

00:53:53Oh, I'm sorry, my lord.

00:53:55Please try to be more explicit.

00:53:57Go on.

00:53:58Well, he just kept on pleading.

00:54:01And what did you do?

00:54:02Well, I got very embarrassed.

00:54:05I picked up my briefcase, and I started to walk towards the door.

00:54:08Then Sir Richard asked me how much money I was going to make from the book.

00:54:11Well, I told him I didn't know.

00:54:13Then he wrote out a cheque and handed it to me.

00:54:16I asked him what it was for, and he said,

00:54:18In place of royalties, now you won't have to write the book.

00:54:21And this was the cheque for 10,000 pounds?

00:54:23Yes.

00:54:24And did you accept it and agree not to write the book?

00:54:26No, not immediately.

00:54:27I asked for time to think it over.

00:54:29I tried to hand Sir Richard back his cheque, but he wouldn't take it.

00:54:32He told me to keep it.

00:54:34Said it would help me to make up my mind.

00:54:36Now, when you first called on Miss Pickford,

00:54:39had you come to any conclusions about Sir Richard's proposition?

00:54:42No, not really.

00:54:44I'd half decided not to accept the money, but at that stage I...

00:54:48Well, I think it would be fair to say that my mind was not quite made up.

00:54:52How did Miss Pickford receive the news of the book?

00:54:55Well, unlike Sir Richard, Miss Pickford was quite calm.

00:54:58She said I'd obviously gone to a lot of research, but that it should be put to better use.

00:55:03And that if I'd agree to drop this book, she'd commission me to write the official biography of J.B. Garford.

00:55:09And what was your reaction?

00:55:11Well, I told her that I wouldn't dream of writing the kind of heroic rubbish that she had in mind.

00:55:17Anyway, I could see that she was just trying to buy me.

00:55:20So what happened then?

00:55:21Well, by this time she'd started to look through the book.

00:55:25She asked me if I'd seen Sir Richard yet. I said I had.

00:55:28And what had been the outcome of that interview.

00:55:30Did you divulge this information freely?

00:55:32Oh, no. No, she kept on pumping me.

00:55:35Well, in the end I told her.

00:55:37And that's when she agreed to pay me the same as Sir Richard had,

00:55:40if only I'd agree to forget all about publishing the book.

00:55:42And did you agree?

00:55:44Yes. Yes, I did.

00:55:46Well, it was a great deal of money.

00:55:49It was far more than I ever thought I'd get from the book.

00:55:52Miss Pickford said that I'd be a fool to turn down the chance of a lifetime.

00:55:56And I believed her.

00:55:58And then she started to type out the agreement.

00:56:00Agreement?

00:56:02What agreement was this, Mr Beaumont?

00:56:05Well, the one I signed, my lord.

00:56:07Miss Pickford said it all had to be done legally.

00:56:09Miss Tate?

00:56:10I'm afraid it's the first I've heard of an agreement, my lord.

00:56:13Have you a copy of this?

00:56:14No, my lord.

00:56:15It was only a single sheet of paper and Miss Pickford kept it.

00:56:19What was written on this single sheet of paper?

00:56:22That all rights in my book would pass to her on payment of £10,000.

00:56:26Mr Beaumont, there's something here I don't understand.

00:56:29Evidence of this nature would be the very cornerstone of your defence.

00:56:34Why, why haven't you mentioned it before?

00:56:36My lord, I couldn't produce this agreement.

00:56:40And I knew only too well that Miss Pickford would deny even its existence.

00:56:44So, what was the point?

00:56:46It was just my word against hers.

00:56:48Hmm, I see.

00:56:50I think perhaps we'd better move on, Miss Tate.

00:56:52As your lordship pleases.

00:56:54Mr Beaumont, now this cheque you received from Miss Pickford,

00:56:57why was it post-dated until April the 5th?

00:57:00Well, she said that it would be better if it came into the next tax year.

00:57:03Better for whom?

00:57:05Well, I took her to mean me, but she could have been referring to herself.

00:57:09Well, were you aware that the cheque was cancelled immediately you left the house?

00:57:13No.

00:57:14Why did you go back to see Sir Richard?

00:57:17To tell him that I'd decided to go ahead with the book after all,

00:57:20and to return his money.

00:57:22And why did you make a second appointment to see Miss Pickford?

00:57:24For the same reason.

00:57:26What happened when you saw Sir Richard for the second time?

00:57:29Well, I told him I intended going ahead with the book.

00:57:32And I offered him my cheque, but he wouldn't take it.

00:57:35He said he'd increase his offer another 5,000 pounds.

00:57:38I told him no.

00:57:40But he insisted that I keep it, said I should sleep on it,

00:57:42and we would meet again the following day.

00:57:44And so you returned to the hotel with the cheque still in your pocket?

00:57:46Yes.

00:57:47I tried to phone Andrew for advice, but he was out of town.

00:57:50Now, when Inspector Woods arrived at the hotel room,

00:57:53he's quoted you as saying,

00:57:56Oh dear, I've been half expecting you to turn up.

00:57:59Is this correct?

00:58:00Yes.

00:58:01Well, what prompted you to say that?

00:58:04Well, I think it was mainly Sir Richard's attitude.

00:58:08He seemed very strange.

00:58:10All the time he was talking to me,

00:58:11he was so obviously thinking about something else.

00:58:14Several times I had to repeat what I'd just said.

00:58:17And then there was his refusal to accept my cheque,

00:58:20even to touch it.

00:58:21He told me to take it away and burn it.

00:58:24Well, the more I thought about it,

00:58:25the more I realised that he must be planning something.

00:58:28And when the police arrived, I knew I was right.

00:58:32Now, one final but all-important question, Mr Belmont.

00:58:36Have you at any time used the threat of publishing your book

00:58:39as a means of demanding money from Miss Pickford, Sir Richard,

00:58:43or any other person?

00:58:44No, never.

00:58:46Never.

00:58:47Thank you, Mr Belmont.

00:58:48Thank you, Mr Belmont.

00:58:49Yes.

00:58:50It's a very imposing name, isn't it?

00:58:52But of course you weren't cr zijning that, were you?

00:58:53You're the third party.

00:58:55Yes, sir.

00:58:57Nigel Beaumont.

00:59:12Yes.

00:59:14It's a very imposing name, isn't it?

00:59:16But of course you weren't christened that, were you?

00:59:19No, no. I changed my name by official deed poll.

00:59:23Rather different from the name you were born with,

00:59:26Norman Higley.

00:59:28You didn't find that impressive enough, I suppose.

00:59:31I just didn't want to go on bearing my father's name, that's all.

00:59:34Your father, yes. He was a vicar in Surrey, I believe.

00:59:37Yes.

00:59:38An unfrocked vicar.

00:59:39My lord, is this necessary?

00:59:41Yes, yes, Miss did.

00:59:42It's a lot to be.

00:59:42My lord, if I may continue for a few moments.

00:59:46Very well.

00:59:47Thank you, my lord.

00:59:48Now, Mr Beaumont, why was your father unfrocked?

00:59:52I believe it was for...

00:59:57for indecency.

01:00:00Was it a homosexual offence?

01:00:04Well?

01:00:06Yes.

01:00:07And because of this, you hated him so much, you changed your name.

01:00:12And am I not right in saying that you feel the same hatred towards any man you even suspect of being homosexual?

01:00:18No, that is not true.

01:00:20Mr Lutterby, as I suspected, in spite of your assurances to me, all those questions are wholly irrelevant.

01:00:27Unless you are trying to show that the accused motive was hatred, not money.

01:00:32And I assume that you are not trying to show that.

01:00:35I'm merely suggesting, my lord, that perhaps there was an underlying motive of hatred, which was almost subconscious.

01:00:42However, I will not continue with this line of questioning, if you so wish.

01:00:44I do, Mr Lutterby.

01:00:46Now, Mr Beaumont, in your book, was there not going to be a chapter entitled, The Unnatural Friendship?

01:00:55When two men live together, as they did, in my opinion, it is unnatural.

01:01:02In your opinion?

01:01:04I suppose, Mr Beaumont, you were too young to have been in the army.

01:01:08Yes, my lord.

01:01:08Then would you accept from me that there can be deep, long-lasting friendships forged in war that last a lifetime?

01:01:16Male, non-physical friendships?

01:01:19Yes, my lord, but two men don't have to live together just because they're good friends.

01:01:24If they do, there's usually a deeper relationship.

01:01:27Really?

01:01:28I see.

01:01:29Well, sometime I should like to hear what you have to say about the Chelsea pensioners, but perhaps not now.

01:01:36I think we should move on, Mr Lutterby.

01:01:39Thank you, my lord.

01:01:41Now, Mr Beaumont, you say you've been researching this book for six years.

01:01:45Yes.

01:01:46That's a long time. How have you earned a living?

01:01:48I've taken jobs.

01:01:49Full-time jobs?

01:01:50Yes.

01:01:50So the book then was just a spare-time occupation?

01:01:53No, I wouldn't say that.

01:01:54The book was of prime importance.

01:01:56The jobs were necessary so that I could carry on with it.

01:01:58But as you were working full-time, this could only be done in your spare time, couldn't it?

01:02:02Yes, but your implication was that it was just a hobby.

01:02:05Your words, Mr Beaumont, not mine.

01:02:09Now, you explained to my loaded friend your reasons for writing this book, how you couldn't stand hypocrisy or can't,

01:02:15how your book was to be a study of six people in depth, a fine intellectual aspiration.

01:02:23So why did you choose to do business with Mr Parry, a publisher of pornography?

01:02:28At the time, I didn't know what sort of books he published.

01:02:30Really?

01:02:30And wasn't it that you knew your book fell into the same category?

01:02:34No, it was quite simply that he was the first publisher that I was in touch with.

01:02:37You went to see him then with the manuscript?

01:02:39Yes, yes.

01:02:40He said he'd read my old magazine articles, that he'd heard I was doing some research to follow them up.

01:02:44But he was interested to look at it and see if he might include it in his list.

01:02:48And did you show him the material you had collected?

01:02:50Yes.

01:02:50Yes, he was very interested.

01:02:52In fact, he thought it would be a bestseller.

01:02:54Yes.

01:02:55Once it was actually written.

01:02:58Well, naturally.

01:03:00And you then went to see Sir Richard and Miss Pickford?

01:03:02Yeah, on Mr Parry's advice.

01:03:04Now, having worked on your study in depth for six years, having got Mr Parry all excited at the thought of a bestseller,

01:03:11you went to see these two people.

01:03:12They offered you money, you said.

01:03:14And you're saying that you immediately forgot the book, forgot more poor Mr Parry, your publisher.

01:03:19Now, wouldn't you say that was the height of hypocrisy?

01:03:22The decision was not immediate. I have already said that.

01:03:25Have you?

01:03:28Oh, yes. Yes, I do apologise.

01:03:30You tell my learned friend that after seeing Sir Richard, but before seeing Miss Pickford,

01:03:34you'd have decided not to accept the money, but that your mind wasn't quite made up.

01:03:39That's right.

01:03:40Why, then, did you go straight to a bank in Fulchester and pay Sir Richard's cheque into your account?

01:03:45Well, because I might have lost it.

01:03:47Was it necessary for you to ask for a special clearance on it?

01:03:50Well, I just wanted to see if it was genuine, that's all.

01:03:52But if you'd half decided not to accept the money, it wouldn't have mattered, would it?

01:03:57I suggest that having extorted money from Sir Richard, you wanted to get that cheque cleared as fast as possible in case he changed his mind.

01:04:03No.

01:04:04Do you honestly ask this court to believe that if Sir Richard had paid you this £10,000 willingly,

01:04:10he would have let you walk out of his house without getting you to sign some form of receipt?

01:04:14That's what happened.

01:04:15No.

01:04:16No, the only reason he'd do that would be if it were the sort of transaction that couldn't be recorded.

01:04:22A payment to a blackmailer.

01:04:24It was not like that at all.

01:04:25He offered the money.

01:04:27And in the same way Miss Pickford offered you exactly the same amount?

01:04:29Yes.

01:04:30You're asking us to believe that two people should behave in an entirely identical manner and say,

01:04:34Oh, please, Mr. Bowman, don't write your book.

01:04:36Have a cheque for £10,000 instead.

01:04:38That is not what happened.

01:04:39Miss Pickford gave me £10,000 because Sir Richard had.

01:04:42You just happened to let that figure slip into the conversation, I suppose.

01:04:45Look, I have already told you.

01:04:46She kept on questioning me.

01:04:47But why did you see Miss Pickford anyway?

01:04:50I mean, if you were not going to write Sir Richard's story, there'd be no book.

01:04:53Hence, no need to see Miss Pickford.

01:04:54At the time, I thought I was going ahead with the book.

01:04:57Having just asked for a special clearance on Sir Richard's cheque.

01:05:02Which brings me to this other cheque, the one the police found on you,

01:05:06the one made out of Sir Richard.

01:05:07Was it genuine?

01:05:09Yes, of course.

01:05:10I mean, if it had been cashed, would it have been met?

01:05:13Yes.

01:05:13Are you sure?

01:05:15Yes.

01:05:16Well, I beg to differ, Mr. Beaumont.

01:05:18At the time of your arrest, your account was only in credit to the amount of £8,977.

01:05:24Oh, yes, that's quite true.

01:05:26I had been overdrawn.

01:05:28But I'm quite sure that my bank would have met the cheque.

01:05:31You think so?

01:05:32Well, previously you're receiving Sir Robert's cheque.

01:05:34Your bank manager had been writing to you regularly for three months,

01:05:37insisting that your overdraft of £1,000 should be reduced.

01:05:42Well, hadn't he?

01:05:44Yes, but I'm quite sure that everyone gets letters like that from time to time.

01:05:48Am I not right in saying that the last letter you received from your bank

01:05:50was on the very morning you saw Sir Richard?

01:05:52No, I left home before the post arrived that day.

01:05:55I didn't find it until I got back.

01:05:57When was your book to have been published?

01:05:59Uh, in the summer.

01:06:01Then you wouldn't have received any royalties from that book until some time later.

01:06:05Now, would your bank have waited that long for a reduction in your overdraft?

01:06:09Look, I am quite sure that my bank manager would have given me an extended overdraft

01:06:13on the strength of the royalties expected from the sales of my book.

01:06:16Now, my overdraft has absolutely nothing to do with all this.

01:06:19Oh, but I think it has.

01:06:20I put it to you, Mr. Beaumont, that finding yourself in a difficult financial position,

01:06:24realising that Sir Richard didn't want this book published,

01:06:26you saw a means of raising money quickly,

01:06:29and so you demanded and received £10,000 as the price of your silence.

01:06:33No, that is not true.

01:06:34Now, having found that this worked once,

01:06:36you used the same intimidation on Miss Pickford.

01:06:38Look, they offered the money.

01:06:38And then with £20,000 in your pocket,

01:06:40you became greedy and you went back for another bite of the golden apple.

01:06:44No, that is an absolute lie.

01:06:47Did you call on any of the other people you intended writing about in your book?

01:06:52Others? No.

01:06:53Why not?

01:06:54Well, Mr. Parry didn't think it was necessary.

01:06:56At that stage.

01:06:57Well, could it be that as two of them were dead,

01:06:59one of them was bankrupt and the other was out of the country,

01:07:02you had no chance of extorting money from them?

01:07:05No, that is not the reason at all.

01:07:09You gave your occupation to my learned friend as a writer.

01:07:13Yes.

01:07:13How many books have you written?

01:07:16Well, this is my first one.

01:07:19Have you actually written it, then?

01:07:21No, not yet.

01:07:22So, in fact, you haven't ever written a single book, have you?

01:07:27My lord, members of the jury,

01:07:36just good friends,

01:07:40the mere title of Nigel Beaumont's proposed book is cheap innuendo.

01:07:44I hesitate to think what its contents would be like or for what readership it was intended.

01:07:48Perversion through the ages.

01:07:55Memoirs of a call girl.

01:07:58And the latest on this publisher's list was to have been just good friends.

01:08:03Well, you might think, as I do, the very idea of this book despicable,

01:08:09attempting to smear people's lives in this way.

01:08:13But Nigel Beaumont is charged with something even more mean and underhand.

01:08:17Blackmail.

01:08:19The very word leaves a foul taste in the mouth.

01:08:22And there is no doubt that that is what Mr Beaumont was engaged in.

01:08:25Now, Nigel Beaumont is a writer who has not written one book.

01:08:30Well, he didn't have to.

01:08:31This writer merely had to threaten to write.

01:08:34And for the price of his silence,

01:08:35he demanded £10,000 from Sir Richard Jeffcott

01:08:38and £10,000 from Stella Pickford.

01:08:41Now, the evidence that he did, in fact, receive this money is not in dispute.

01:08:44And having received Sir Richard's cheque,

01:08:48note how quickly he paid it into his bank,

01:08:51insisting on a special clearance.

01:08:54Well, he needed it to pay his £1,000 overdraft.

01:09:00Miss Pickford said she believed his mind is diseased,

01:09:03and we've heard enough of his opinions, I think,

01:09:04to understand something of what he meant.

01:09:07Certainly his actions seem to be the product of a sick mind,

01:09:10but then such could be said of any blackmailer.

01:09:15Ladies and gentlemen, you have no alternative

01:09:17but to find Nigel Beaumont guilty as charged.

01:09:21Miss Tate?

01:09:25Members of the jury,

01:09:27I shall not try to blind you with emotion or rhetoric,

01:09:31but simply lay before you a few salient facts.

01:09:34Now, let the first thing be settled.

01:09:36Nigel Beaumont was writing a book.

01:09:38It is there in evidence before you.

01:09:41We have seen how Mr Beaumont

01:09:43has collected and correlated only known facts,

01:09:46many of which had been printed publicly before.

01:09:49The clear, unvarnished truth about these relationships.

01:09:54Well, sometimes the truth can be unpalatable,

01:09:57so unpalatable that people will go to any lengths

01:10:00to have it hushed up.

01:10:01Why was it members of the jury

01:10:03that at no time did either Sir Richard or Miss Pickford

01:10:07try to bring an injunction to stop publication?

01:10:10For a multimillionaire and a senior member of parliament,

01:10:13this should not have been too difficult to task.

01:10:16The reason is that the book was not libelous

01:10:19and the action would have failed.

01:10:21Nigel Beaumont worked for six years

01:10:32researching the lives of six people for this book.

01:10:35Now, why bother to do all this

01:10:37if his intention was blackmail?

01:10:39We've already seen that he had enough material for blackmail

01:10:42from the original magazine article.

01:10:44Nigel Beaumont is an honest man

01:10:48who detests the hypocrisy and cant

01:10:51which society surrounds its leading figures with.

01:10:54He detests the conspiracy of silence

01:10:57with which the establishment protects its own.

01:11:01Determined to expose this conspiracy to the light of day,

01:11:04he went to see these people.

01:11:06Determined to ignore the powers of their money

01:11:09and their influence,

01:11:10he refused their offers to hush up his work.

01:11:14As a result,

01:11:15he finds himself accused of blackmail.

01:11:19Members of the jury,

01:11:20I ask you to find him not guilty.

01:11:25Members of the jury,

01:11:26you've now had an opportunity

01:11:28to hear the evidence

01:11:29both for the prosecution and for the defence.

01:11:32Very shortly, I shall be asking you to retire

01:11:34to consider your verdict.

01:11:37I feel that you should know

01:11:38and understand exactly what is meant

01:11:41by the word blackmail.

01:11:43It is the crime of obtaining money

01:11:45or other property with menaces.

01:11:49Thus, if A were to say to B,

01:11:52you must pay me a hundred pounds,

01:11:54that in itself could not be construed as blackmail.

01:11:58But if A were to say to B,

01:12:00unless you pay me a hundred pounds,

01:12:02I shall tell your employer

01:12:03that you've been to prison

01:12:05or some other such threat,

01:12:07that is blackmail.

01:12:09I want you to be quite clear about this.

01:12:12Because, quite simply,

01:12:13you have to decide

01:12:14whether or not the accused

01:12:17obtained money

01:12:18by means of a threat.

01:12:21Now, you should also be aware

01:12:22that the burden of proof

01:12:24falls upon the prosecution

01:12:25to establish its case

01:12:27beyond all reasonable doubt.

01:12:29And now, you've heard a very great deal

01:12:32concerning the private lives

01:12:34of two of the witnesses.

01:12:36And you may feel

01:12:37that you are somehow

01:12:38being asked to sit in judgment on them.

01:12:40This is not the case.

01:12:43Neither of them are on trial.

01:12:46You've heard their evidence

01:12:47and it is for you to decide

01:12:49whether they gave the money voluntarily

01:12:51or under duress.

01:12:53It is not for you to decide

01:12:56whether the allegations

01:12:57into their private lives

01:12:59are true or not.

01:13:01Now, members of the jury,

01:13:02will you kindly retire

01:13:04to consider your verdict?

01:13:07All stand.

01:13:14Members of the jury,

01:13:15will your foreman please stand?

01:13:17Answer this question, yes or no.

01:13:19Have you reached a verdict

01:13:20on which you're all agreed?

01:13:22Yes.

01:13:22Do you find the prisoner

01:13:23guilty or not guilty of blackmail?

01:13:26Not guilty.

01:13:27Mr Beaumont,

01:13:28you are free to go.

01:13:30All stand.

01:13:38Next week,

01:13:39our cameras return

01:13:40to watch another leading case

01:13:42in the Crown Court.

01:13:52is a warning.

Crown Court - Just Good Friends (1973)

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