Crown Court - The Getaway (1974) - video Dailymotion

Jezza

Crown Court: the gripping courtroom drama from the 1970s and 1980s.  Phil McDowell has been deserted by his wife and daughter: he's been sacked from his job as a bank clerk and is now on trial for abducting Fiona Sumner, a fourteen-year-old girl. He denies the offense and insists she agreed to go with him.

Transcript

00:00:00The

00:00:16accused Philip McDowell has been employed by the bank for 23 years since he was 17.

00:00:21Do you mind if I look at my records?

00:00:22No, please do.

00:00:26Yes, that is correct.

00:00:27And he's been at the King Street branch of the bank, of which you are a manager for five years?

00:00:31Yes, that would be right.

00:00:32He's married with two children, aged 16 and 13?

00:00:37Yes, Robert and Alison.

00:00:40And it's true to say, is it not, that all his years at the bank were years of devoted service, not a blot on your records?

00:00:45That would have been true, yes.

00:00:47A model employee?

00:00:48I think we would have liked him to have been a little more ambitious.

00:00:52But within the limitations of his ability, yes, it would be fair to describe him as a model employee.

00:00:59Whom you sacked without notice on the 18th of September of last year.

00:01:03Sir McDowell was dismissed quite lawfully because he was absent without leave and without lawful justification.

00:01:11On and from Monday the 10th of September.

00:01:16My lord, I have already explained this.

00:01:19I am right, am I not, Mr. Gerrard, when I say that you have formed the view that Mr. McDowell is guilty of the offence with which he is charged,

00:01:25and that that is why you sacked him, and that is why you are pretending that he was absent without leave,

00:01:30when in fact you specifically agreed to him taking another week's holiday at that time.

00:01:34It is for the jury to decide whether a man is guilty. I have a quite open mind.

00:01:38You do know what offence he is charged with?

00:01:40I do, sir.

00:01:41He is charged with abducting a 14-year-old girl, a Miss Fiona Sumner.

00:01:45And it was because you had jumped to the conclusion that he was guilty that you sacked him?

00:01:49Oh, my lord, that would have been wholly inappropriate.

00:01:52I was not aware of the existence of the young lady at the time the letter of dismissal was sent to McDowell.

00:01:59You say that when you dismissed my client you were not even aware that Miss Fiona Sumner existed?

00:02:04Do you read the Fulchester Gazette?

00:02:06I do.

00:02:08Will you take a look at this, please?

00:02:09Now, that is the Fulchester Gazette for Tuesday the 11th of September.

00:02:18Will you look at it, please?

00:02:23Now, did you not see that newspaper?

00:02:27My lord, I don't read the local newspapers every day.

00:02:31It just depends whether I have time.

00:02:33I have to give priority to the financial journals, you see.

00:02:36Mr. Gerrard, is that newspaper delivered to your house every day?

00:02:40Yes.

00:02:41But you say that you did not see that particular issue.

00:02:45You are married, are you not?

00:02:47I am.

00:02:48And you yourself have a 15-year-old daughter, do you not?

00:02:51Yes, I do.

00:02:52And you say that no one, not even your wife, told you about the missing 14-year-old child or showed you that newspaper?

00:02:59My lord, I think I must correct some of my evidence.

00:03:04I must have known about the girl.

00:03:06Must have known, you mean you did?

00:03:07Yes, that must have been so.

00:03:10Must have been?

00:03:11Was?

00:03:11You knew perfectly well.

00:03:13I'd like to explain, if I may, my lord.

00:03:15Yes, Mr. Gerrard.

00:03:17Well, as I've said, McDowell withdrew from his account on Friday the 7th of September.

00:03:23Everything except five pounds.

00:03:27I knew that.

00:03:29That's why his mortgage repayments fell into arrears.

00:03:31There was another instalment due on the Monday.

00:03:34Mr. Gerrard, I asked you a very simple question.

00:03:37I'd like to explain in my own way, if I may, my lord.

00:03:40Mr. Gerrard.

00:03:41Oh, let him go on, Mr. Golding.

00:03:43Yes, Mr. Gerrard.

00:03:44Well, when McDowell didn't come in to work on the Monday, I telephoned Mrs. McDowell.

00:03:50But she said her husband wasn't there.

00:03:52Did she say where he was?

00:03:53Well, not at first, no.

00:03:55She was evasive.

00:03:57But later in the week, I telephoned her every day.

00:04:00She said she had no idea where her husband was, and that he had been missing since Sunday afternoon.

00:04:07And then there was the newspaper report about the missing girl.

00:04:11Well, I didn't put the two together at first, and not until about the following Tuesday, after the girl had been found.

00:04:19I telephoned Mrs. McDowell again, but she wasn't there.

00:04:23I spoke to the son, Robert, who said that his father was back, but that his mother and sister had left home.

00:04:31And you jumped to the conclusion after this telephone call that McDowell had in fact abducted Fiona Sonnen.

00:04:36Well, yes.

00:04:38To be honest, I am on oath.

00:04:41Yes, I did think so.

00:04:42You did think so.

00:04:43And what did you think of his actions?

00:04:44I thought it was disgusting.

00:04:47You thought it was disgusting?

00:04:49Now, let's get back to his so-called absence without leave.

00:04:54Mr. McDowell is entitled to four and a half weeks holiday a year?

00:04:57Please answer the question, Mr. Gerrard. It's so easy to misunderstand gestures.

00:05:01I'm sorry, my lord. The answer to your last question is yes, sir.

00:05:04Yes, and my client took his family to Wales at the beginning of August of last year?

00:05:08He did.

00:05:08Returning to work on Monday the 13th of August.

00:05:13Uh, yes.

00:05:15But he still had over two and a half weeks holiday in hand.

00:05:18Yes, that would be correct.

00:05:19And on Monday the 3rd of September he saw you in your office about taking another week's holiday.

00:05:24No, sir.

00:05:26I suggest that he did.

00:05:27I suggest that he asked for another week off and that you agreed.

00:05:30That is untrue, sir.

00:05:32Mr. Gerrard, it's right, isn't it, that Mr. McDowell has a particular hobby.

00:05:37Vintage cars.

00:05:39In fact, he owns a 1930 Austin 7, doesn't he?

00:05:44I have no record of that.

00:05:46Oh, dear, dear.

00:05:47Mr. Lloyd, is it disputed that the accused has an old car as a hobby?

00:05:51Uh, no, my lord.

00:05:52Indeed, it is an integral part of the prosecution case that the accused is interested in and has such a car.

00:05:57It is a car that could perhaps be described as the getaway vehicle.

00:06:02Well, I once owned an Austin 7.

00:06:04I must say I never thought I should ever hear anyone refer to such a motor car as a getaway vehicle.

00:06:11Well, let's get on.

00:06:13My lord, Mr. Gerrard, when Mr. McDowell came to see you in your office,

00:06:17he told you that he wanted the next week off because he was going to try and better the time a friend had taken

00:06:21to drive in another Austin 7 from Fulchester to John O'Groats.

00:06:25There was no such conversation.

00:06:27This is the first I've heard of a race to John O'Groats.

00:06:29Mr. Gerrard, either you are deliberately lying or you've, in fact, convinced yourself that what you say is the truth.

00:06:36But the fact is that you have developed a disgust for my client, to use your own words.

00:06:40And for that reason, you are trying to give my client's absence from work a sinister appearance

00:06:45when, in fact, it was wholly innocent and with your agreement.

00:06:48Mr. Gerrard, you've said that the accused had a good work record.

00:06:55Well, did he, in fact, appear to take a great interest in his work?

00:06:58Or did he simply do what was required of him, but no more?

00:07:01The latter, I'd say.

00:07:03A strictly nine-to-five man.

00:07:05I suppose that's why he never really got very far.

00:07:08A man of his age ought to have been, well, at least an assistant manager.

00:07:13Yes. Now, you've told us that on Friday the 7th of September, the accused withdrew some money from his account.

00:07:19Now, was the account, in fact, the joint account of himself and his wife?

00:07:22Yes, that is correct.

00:07:23And how much did he draw out?

00:07:25Two hundred and fifty pounds. Everything except five pounds and a few pence.

00:07:29One last matter, Mr. Gerrard.

00:07:31You were asked by my learned friend about telephone calls that you made to the accused's home.

00:07:35And you've told us that on one occasion you spoke to his son, who said that his father was at home.

00:07:39When was that telephone call?

00:07:41That was the Tuesday.

00:07:42It'll be Tuesday the 18th of September.

00:07:45Yes, my lord, that would be it.

00:07:47Did you ask to speak to the accused?

00:07:48I did.

00:07:49Robert put the phone down and went away.

00:07:51When he came back, he said his father couldn't come to the telephone.

00:07:56Couldn't come to the telephone?

00:07:58Yes, sir.

00:07:59And you say the accused's wife has left him?

00:08:01That's what the son told me over the phone, that his mother and sister had left home.

00:08:07But I see Mrs. McDowell is in the court.

00:08:10Yes, I see.

00:08:11Thank you, Mr. Gerrard.

00:08:12You have any questions, my lord?

00:08:13No, no.

00:08:16Good morning.

00:08:17I call Mrs. Sumner.

00:08:20Sarah Sumner, please.

00:08:25My lord, may I ask if Mr. Gerrard can be released?

00:08:28He has some very pressing engagements.

00:08:30Oh, yes, I'm sure he has.

00:08:31He can go.

00:08:32Thank you, my lord.

00:08:34What is your religion?

00:08:36Church of England.

00:08:36Take the Bible in your right hand and read aloud the words on the card.

00:08:39I swear by Almighty God that the evidence I shall give shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

00:08:45Mrs. Sumner, what is your full name?

00:08:47Sarah Elizabeth Sumner.

00:08:48And where do you live?

00:08:5041 Stapleton Avenue.

00:08:51Fullchester.

00:08:52Yes.

00:08:53You are a widow, are you not, Mrs. Sumner, but you have a daughter of Fiona.

00:08:57Yes, that is correct.

00:08:58How old is she?

00:08:5914.

00:09:00Do you have any other children?

00:09:01No.

00:09:02Where does Fiona attend school?

00:09:04At Fullchester Comprehensive.

00:09:07Well, there being just the two of us, I always thought it better to send her to day school.

00:09:11When did Fiona's autumn term begin?

00:09:13On September the 10th.

00:09:15And did she attend school that day?

00:09:17No.

00:09:18Why not?

00:09:19She had vanished the afternoon before, on the Sunday.

00:09:23It was awful when it got dark and she hadn't come home.

00:09:26I waited until about 11 o'clock and then I telephoned the police.

00:09:30When did she return?

00:09:31On the Thursday.

00:09:32The 13th?

00:09:33Yes.

00:09:35I was quite desperate by then.

00:09:36It was six o'clock in the evening and the doorbell rang and I thought it must be someone with some news.

00:09:42I went to the door and it was Fiona.

00:09:45She more or less fell into my arms.

00:09:47She was so tired.

00:09:48It must have been a tremendous relief.

00:09:49Oh, yes.

00:09:50The police had been looking for her on Sheppingham Commons, dragging ponds, everything.

00:09:56Was Fiona's disappearance a surprise to you?

00:09:59A surprise?

00:10:00Of course it was.

00:10:01Do you and Fiona have a close relationship?

00:10:03Very close.

00:10:04I suppose it's because of her not having a father.

00:10:07So far as you know, did Fiona prior to her disappearance know McDowell at all?

00:10:12Well, like me, she may have said hello once or twice, but that would be all.

00:10:17I'm afraid you can't tell us what Fiona told you when she came home, but you could perhaps tell us about her appearance.

00:10:23Oh, just what I saw?

00:10:24Mm-hmm.

00:10:24Well, she'd been crying.

00:10:28She was soaked through.

00:10:30And when I undressed her to give her her bath, I noticed there were marks, bruises on her wrists, as though someone had been gripping them hard.

00:10:39And on her legs.

00:10:40I put her to bed, and she slept for about ten hours, and then she had something to eat, and then she slept for another ten.

00:10:49Now, you say that Fiona, prior to her disappearance, wouldn't have known McDowell any better than you, and you at the most had a nodding acquaintance with him.

00:10:56Yes.

00:10:57May she be shown the bundle of photographs?

00:10:59Yes.

00:11:00This is exhibit two, my lord.

00:11:02Mm-hmm.

00:11:02Will you look at the photographs, Mrs. Sumner?

00:11:18Do you recognise the girl in the photographs?

00:11:22Yes, yes, of course.

00:11:24It's Fiona.

00:11:25Yes, and as we can see, the man is the accused.

00:11:27Now, so far as you know, was there any occasion prior to her disappearance when those photographs could have been taken?

00:11:35No.

00:11:37No, they must have been taken whilst she was away.

00:11:57As I indicated, my lord, I propose to interpose this officer and to complete Mrs. Sumner's evidence later.

00:12:04The officer has a pressing engagement elsewhere tomorrow.

00:12:07Yes, Mr. Lloyd, let him this morning.

00:12:09I swear, by almighty God, that the evidence I shall give should be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

00:12:15Sergeant Stanley Crossman, Fullchester Central Police Station, my lord.

00:12:18Sergeant, were you the officer in charge of this case, and did you interview all the witnesses?

00:12:22Yes, sir.

00:12:22Sergeant, did you on Monday the 24th of September go to an address in Fullchester?

00:12:26May I consult me notebook, my lord?

00:12:28Mr. Golding, any objection?

00:12:29No, my lord, I've seen a copy. He may read from it, if he wishes.

00:12:32Sergeant.

00:12:32Yes, my lord.

00:12:33I went to the first 19 Stapleton Avenue, Fullchester.

00:12:37As a result of inquiries at the house, I went to a garage at the bottom of the garden where I saw the accused.

00:12:42What was he doing?

00:12:43He was lying underneath a car, my lord.

00:12:44Doing some work on it?

00:12:46Yes, my lord.

00:12:47I said to him, a Miss Fiona Sumner, 14 years old, of 41 Stapleton Avenue, went missing on Sunday the 9th of September.

00:12:54She returned to her home on Thursday the 13th.

00:12:57She says that you persuaded her to go away with you, and that together you drove to John O'Groats.

00:13:03Her mother says that her permission was not obtained for this trip.

00:13:06Did he say anything?

00:13:07He said he knew nothing about Fiona Sumner going missing.

00:13:10I said, do you know this girl?

00:13:13He said, yes, I do.

00:13:14She lives up the road.

00:13:16I said, is it true that she visits you at this garage?

00:13:19He said, yes, sometimes.

00:13:21I said, did you go away on Sunday the 9th?

00:13:23He said, yes, I went to John O'Groats in this.

00:13:26I went for the record.

00:13:27What did he mean by in this?

00:13:29His old car, my lord.

00:13:31Do you know what he meant by the record?

00:13:33No, my lord.

00:13:34I gather from questions put to Mr Gerard that it's some kind of Austin 7 speed record.

00:13:38No doubt we shall have that to explain to us later.

00:13:40Yes, Mr Lloyd?

00:13:41Was there any other conversation?

00:13:42Yes, I said, did you go alone?

00:13:44He replied, yes, I did.

00:13:46Then what?

00:13:47Well, I asked if I could have a look at his car.

00:13:50I said it was very nice and must be worth a few, Bob.

00:13:52So he let me have a look over it.

00:13:53And did you see anything?

00:13:55Yes, I found a camera with a film in it.

00:13:57And did you take possession of it?

00:13:58I did, my lord.

00:13:59And did you have that film processed?

00:14:01I did, my lord.

00:14:01And may he be shown exhibit two?

00:14:02Are these the photographs developed from that film?

00:14:09They are, my lord.

00:14:10Of course, the photographs could have been taken anywhere and at any time.

00:14:13He said they were taken out of Sheppigan Way a few weekends previously, my lord.

00:14:16Yes, but did you specifically ask him whether he had in fact taken them

00:14:20between the 9th and the 13th of December on the way to or from Scotland?

00:14:24I did, but as I said, he denied this.

00:14:26Did you find anything else in the car?

00:14:28Yes, I found some tapes.

00:14:30Tapes?

00:14:31You mean from a tape recorder?

00:14:33Yes, my lord.

00:14:33Oh, dear.

00:14:34Did you ask the accused about them?

00:14:36I did, my lord.

00:14:37I said, what have you got on here?

00:14:38He said, the engine.

00:14:40The engine?

00:14:42Yes, my lord.

00:14:42He meant the sound of the engine.

00:14:43Why on earth should anyone want to make a tape recording of the sound of a motor car in?

00:14:47That's what I said, my lord.

00:14:48He said, it's just for the record, happy memories.

00:14:51Yes, I suppose on reflection it's not so strange.

00:14:53After all, it is possible to buy a long playing record of the noise of a steam locomotive.

00:14:57Yes, please go on.

00:14:59What did you do?

00:15:00Well, I asked him when he'd recorded them and he said he'd done it on his trip to Scotland.

00:15:04He said he'd made them on his trip to Scotland.

00:15:07Did you ask him anything else?

00:15:09Well, I asked if we could play them and he said his machine was broken.

00:15:12So what did you do?

00:15:13Well, I took them away with me when I terminated the interview.

00:15:15So you didn't arrest him that day?

00:15:17No, my lord.

00:15:17That was the next day after I'd listened to the tapes.

00:15:20And you now produce the tapes?

00:15:21Yes, my lord.

00:15:22Mr. Golding, do you have any comment about these tapes?

00:15:25No, my lord.

00:15:25I have heard them.

00:15:26There is no dispute as to their authenticity.

00:15:28Oh, very well, Mr. Lloyd.

00:15:30Thank you, my lord.

00:15:31This will be exhibit three.

00:15:42Switch on, please.

00:15:43The relevant parts are a bit farther on, my lord.

00:15:50There is hardly a damning piece of evidence so far, Mr. Lloyd.

00:15:54It really seems to me as though the John O'Groats tapes may turn out to be as illuminating on vital issues as the Watergate ones.

00:16:01Very good.

00:16:03Yes, yes, go ahead.

00:16:04Hey, you haven't switched on already, have you, Fee?

00:16:14You're wasting the battery.

00:16:16Shall I crank it?

00:16:18All right, Fee, but mind it doesn't bite.

00:16:30Oh, what's the matter, Phil?

00:16:32Oh, come on.

00:16:33Let's have a look.

00:16:34Why, you daft thing, you haven't reconnected the distributor lead.

00:16:41Go on, then, try now.

00:16:42Right.

00:16:46Yes, thank you.

00:16:49That was the tape that he said he'd made on his trip to Scotland.

00:16:53Yes, my lord.

00:16:54Can you identify the voices on that tape?

00:16:56Well, the man's voice is definitely the accused, and I'd say I'm pretty certain that the girl's voice is Fiona Sumner.

00:17:01You've spoken to her, you know her voice.

00:17:03Yes, my lord.

00:17:03And those are the tapes which the accused told you he had made on his trip to John O'Groats?

00:17:09Yes, my lord.

00:17:10Which journey he had told you he had made alone?

00:17:12Correct, my lord.

00:17:13What did you do when you'd heard the tapes?

00:17:15The next day, I returned to the accused's home, cautioned him, arrested him, and took him to the police station.

00:17:21Did he say anything when you arrested him?

00:17:23Yes, my lord.

00:17:24He said, do what you like with me.

00:17:26My wife's left me.

00:17:27I've lost my job.

00:17:28Everything's finished.

00:17:29I had nothing to do with the girl's disappearance.

00:17:32Now, as officer in charge of this case, did you commission a medical report on the girl, Fiona Sumner?

00:17:37Yes, sir.

00:17:38My lord, yourself and the jury have had copies of this, which is agreed evidence.

00:17:41Mr. Golding?

00:17:42Indeed, my lord.

00:17:43Yes, now, this states that the bruises sustained by the girl are conclusive with a fall, and the superficial bruising on her wrists is possibly due to a tight manual grip.

00:17:56The examination shows that Fiona Sumner was not Virgo intacta, but found no signs of recent sexual activity or assault.

00:18:04Thank you, sir.

00:18:34No, you are released.

00:18:36Thank you, sergeant.

00:18:37Thank you, my lord.

00:18:37I recall Mrs. Sumner.

00:18:40Sarah Sumner, please.

00:18:49You are still on oath, Mrs. Sumner, you understand?

00:18:52Yes.

00:18:54Mrs. Sumner, I was asking you about these.

00:18:56The accused told the police that these photographs were taken a few weeks before the week beginning Sunday the 9th of September,

00:19:02and apparently the accused claims they were taken on Sheppingham Common.

00:19:07Now, would that have been possible without you knowing it?

00:19:10No, quite impossible.

00:19:11I would have known about it.

00:19:13And we were on holiday throughout the whole of August in Cornwall,

00:19:16and when we came back that first weekend in September, we had my sister staying,

00:19:20and Fiona wouldn't have wanted to leave the house then.

00:19:22Yes, I see.

00:19:23Thank you, Mrs. Sumner.

00:19:24Mrs. Sumner, would you say it would take something pretty extraordinary to compel your daughter to go away?

00:19:32Like force?

00:19:34Oh, yes.

00:19:35Or some other quite extraordinary circumstance which you, because of your frank relationship with her,

00:19:40would know to have existed?

00:19:43Mrs. Sumner, have you been frank with this court?

00:19:46I have sworn to be.

00:19:47And have you been?

00:19:48I have.

00:19:50Very well.

00:19:51Let's see.

00:19:53Your daughter was on very friendly terms with Mr. McDowell, was she not?

00:19:56Not to my knowledge.

00:19:58Oh.

00:19:59Don't you know that from about the spring of 1973,

00:20:01she was a regular visitor to his garage at the bottom of his garden,

00:20:04where he worked on his old car?

00:20:05Is that what he is saying?

00:20:06I suppose he'd have to say something like that, wouldn't he?

00:20:08Just answer the question, Mrs. Sumner.

00:20:09Did you know that?

00:20:11I'm sorry, my lord.

00:20:12I did not know it, and I do not believe it.

00:20:14Besides, what would she have wanted to go there for?

00:20:19Just to talk, apparently.

00:20:21At least once a week.

00:20:22Sometimes more often.

00:20:24Now, Mrs. Sumner, about this late husband of yours,

00:20:27what was his name?

00:20:28I really don't see what on earth that has to do with this case.

00:20:31Nor do I, Mrs. Sumner, for the moment,

00:20:33but I'm sure that Mr. Golding wouldn't ask the question

00:20:35if he didn't think it was relevant,

00:20:37so will you please answer?

00:20:40What was the question?

00:20:41I asked what your husband's name was.

00:20:45Archie.

00:20:46Archibald Havelock Sumner.

00:20:48And when did he die?

00:20:50Um, in 1958, in the December,

00:20:53when I was three months pregnant with Fiona.

00:20:56What caused his death?

00:20:58He was killed in a road accident.

00:21:02He was always a fast driver.

00:21:03His car turned over.

00:21:05Was it a happy marriage?

00:21:06It was, it was very short.

00:21:11We were only married in the July of that year.

00:21:13Mr. Golding, when are we coming to the point?

00:21:16These questions are bound to be distressing, you know.

00:21:18My lord, I assure you,

00:21:19I asked them on instructions which warrant them,

00:21:20as your lordship will see, if you will bear with me.

00:21:22All right, go on.

00:21:24Mrs. Sumner, was it a happy marriage?

00:21:28Yes, it was.

00:21:30And you've brought Fiona up to believe that her father was dead?

00:21:34Believe?

00:21:35Well, yes, of course.

00:21:36I've already told you that he's dead.

00:21:37No, Mrs. Sumner, your husband did not die in December, 1958,

00:21:40and he's still alive today.

00:21:41But he's dead!

00:21:43My lord, must I go on answering these questions?

00:21:46You will answer, Mrs. Sumner.

00:21:48He was killed.

00:21:50Killed in the accident.

00:21:52Mrs. Sumner, it's right, isn't it,

00:21:54in the early full-blooded days of your relationship,

00:21:56that your husband had a pet name for you, didn't he?

00:22:01Yes.

00:22:01A name that only you and he would know.

00:22:05Yes.

00:22:06He used to call you Entelecki, didn't he?

00:22:10Yes.

00:22:12How did you know?

00:22:14Because he's still alive, Mrs. Sumner.

00:22:15All right, he is!

00:22:18Yes, he is alive.

00:22:22Well, perhaps I should have told the truth,

00:22:23but I simply didn't want Fiona to know.

00:22:26She believes her father is dead,

00:22:28and it's best left that way, that's all.

00:22:29I see. Why did you conceal from your daughter

00:22:32the fact that her father is alive?

00:22:34Our marriage was not a happy one.

00:22:37We had certain differences,

00:22:41certain...

00:22:42Yes, Mrs. Sumner?

00:22:45We didn't agree about certain aspects

00:22:47of the intimate side of our married life, my lord.

00:22:49When he left, he said he never wanted to see me again.

00:22:53It was mutual.

00:22:55But I was already pregnant.

00:22:57He said that for the sake of the child,

00:22:59he hoped I miscarried or that it died at birth.

00:23:03And that was in December 1958,

00:23:04and I've never seen him since.

00:23:06He's never tried to see Fiona,

00:23:08so I thought it better to lie to her.

00:23:10Well, besides,

00:23:13he's not fit for society.

00:23:17Mr. Golding,

00:23:19Mrs. Sumner,

00:23:20do you know where your former husband lives now?

00:23:24Mrs. Sumner?

00:23:26I'm sorry?

00:23:27Where does your former husband live now?

00:23:30Oh, I don't know.

00:23:32Our maintenance is paid through his solicitors.

00:23:35So that he won't have to think about us,

00:23:37it is adjusted according to the retail price index.

00:23:39I know where he lives, Mrs. Sumner.

00:23:41Where?

00:23:42In Scotland, my lord,

00:23:43some 25 miles from John O'Groats.

00:24:04The case of the Queen against McDowell

00:24:09will be resumed tomorrow in the Crown Court.

00:24:12At the end of August 1973,

00:24:3840-year-old bank clerk Philip McDowell

00:24:40returned with his wife and two teenage children

00:24:42from their annual holiday in Wales.

00:24:44His life seemed to run according to a set pattern.

00:24:47But within six weeks,

00:24:48his wife had left him,

00:24:49he'd lost his job,

00:24:50his mortgage was in arrears,

00:24:51and he was charged with abducting

00:24:52a 14-year-old girl, Fiona Sumner,

00:24:54who lived in the same road.

00:24:56The second day of McDowell's trial

00:24:58at Fulchester Crown Court has begun,

00:25:00and the girl in question,

00:25:01Fiona Sumner,

00:25:02is giving evidence.

00:25:04So, from time to time,

00:25:05you used to visit the accused

00:25:06when he was working on his Austin 7

00:25:09in his garage?

00:25:09Yes.

00:25:11How often?

00:25:12I didn't count.

00:25:13Once or twice a week.

00:25:14At least once a week.

00:25:16Why did you do that?

00:25:17I don't know.

00:25:19What did you do in the garage?

00:25:20Just talked.

00:25:21And sometimes I helped him,

00:25:23holding a spanner or a bolt or something.

00:25:25What if these visits were all so innocent?

00:25:27Why did you conceal them from your mother?

00:25:29I don't know.

00:25:31Well, I suppose I thought she wouldn't like it.

00:25:33She doesn't mean to be,

00:25:35but she's jealous.

00:25:37She doesn't like me spending much time with other people.

00:25:39Yes, I see.

00:25:40Did you like Mr McDowell?

00:25:42I did then, yes.

00:25:44Why?

00:25:45He was, well, different.

00:25:48He listened.

00:25:49You could say anything to him.

00:25:50Yes, I see.

00:25:51Now, did you visit the garage on the weekend

00:25:53of the 1st and the 2nd of September?

00:25:55Yes.

00:25:55When?

00:25:56On Sunday, I think it was.

00:25:57And did Mr McDowell tell you something?

00:25:59Yes.

00:26:00What was it?

00:26:00He said that Noel Dobbs had driven from Fulchester

00:26:03to John O'Groats the week before.

00:26:04Did you know who Noel Dobbs was?

00:26:06Oh, yes.

00:26:06He also had an Austin 7, a nippy.

00:26:09He lives in Apsley.

00:26:10What else did McDowell say?

00:26:11He said that Noel had done the journey

00:26:13in just over 14 hours.

00:26:15He said that was an average of about 30 miles an hour

00:26:18and that we'd never hear the end of it.

00:26:19Then what happened?

00:26:20I asked him if he could do it quicker.

00:26:22And what did he say exactly?

00:26:23He said, what?

00:26:25In the mighty machine?

00:26:27That's what he called his car.

00:26:29Sure I can, Fee.

00:26:31That's what he called me.

00:26:32Then what?

00:26:33I said, well then, why don't you?

00:26:36And he said, all right, Fee, I will,

00:26:38when my holiday comes up.

00:26:39Was there any more discussion about it on that occasion?

00:26:43Did you visit the garage again the following week?

00:26:46Yes.

00:26:46When?

00:26:47On Wednesday, I think.

00:26:48And did he discuss his record attempt then?

00:26:51Yes.

00:26:51He said he'd half a mind to go next week.

00:26:53Oh, but later on he's...

00:26:54Can you remember his exact words?

00:26:56Well, I'll try.

00:26:58He said, Fee, why don't you come with me?

00:27:02It's nice enough to have the hood down.

00:27:04What did you say?

00:27:04I said I couldn't.

00:27:06School was starting and anyway, Mum wouldn't let me.

00:27:08And what did he say?

00:27:09He said, well, don't tell your mum then.

00:27:12He got quite worked up on the idea.

00:27:14He said he'd thought it all out and we could go on Sunday.

00:27:16Did you want to go?

00:27:18No.

00:27:19Not at first, but...

00:27:21Well, he went on and on, so in the end I said I would.

00:27:24I was to go round on Sunday at half past two, after lunch,

00:27:29when Mrs McDowell would be washing up.

00:27:31So she wasn't to be told either then?

00:27:33Is that what you did?

00:27:34Yes.

00:27:35When did you arrive in John O'Groats?

00:27:37On Monday at about five o'clock in the morning.

00:27:39Oh, was that a new record?

00:27:41No.

00:27:42Pity.

00:27:43Did you then set out for home?

00:27:45No.

00:27:46Why not?

00:27:47He wouldn't.

00:27:49He said he wanted us to do a tour of the West Coast.

00:27:51Again?

00:27:52Did you want to?

00:27:53No.

00:27:53Why not?

00:27:54Well, I knew that Mum and everyone would be worried.

00:27:57So what happened?

00:27:59Well, I was very tired,

00:28:00so I said I'd try and get some sleep in the car.

00:28:02Go on.

00:28:03Well, I curled up under the rug in the passenger seat.

00:28:06He just wandered off by himself for a bit.

00:28:08Later he came back and sat beside me

00:28:12and put his arm round me.

00:28:14I pretended to be asleep

00:28:15and eventually I went to sleep.

00:28:19What's the next thing you remember?

00:28:22When I woke up,

00:28:23he was fast asleep with his head on my shoulder.

00:28:26I tried to get out of the car without waking him,

00:28:27but when I opened the door he woke and said,

00:28:29Where are you going?

00:28:31I told him I was going home.

00:28:32What was his reaction to that?

00:28:34Well, he said I wasn't going anywhere.

00:28:36He took hold of me and shook me.

00:28:39I was scared.

00:28:41I tried to get away,

00:28:42but we both fell over

00:28:43and I hit my leg against a rock.

00:28:45It was bleeding.

00:28:47I just got up and ran.

00:28:49When I looked back,

00:28:50he was just lying there on the ground.

00:28:52Yes.

00:28:53And as we know,

00:28:54you finally arrived home

00:28:55on the evening of Thursday,

00:28:56the 13th of September.

00:28:57Yes.

00:28:58Yes, thank you.

00:28:58Miss Sumner,

00:29:02you were brought up, were you not,

00:29:03in the belief that your father was dead?

00:29:06Yes.

00:29:07Yes.

00:29:07And what, in fact,

00:29:08did your mother say had happened to your father?

00:29:10She said he'd been killed in a road accident.

00:29:13And you believed that until this year?

00:29:15Yes.

00:29:16You had no recollection of your father?

00:29:19What?

00:29:20You don't remember ever having seen your father?

00:29:23No.

00:29:24And what did you know about him?

00:29:26You did know something about him, didn't you?

00:29:27That he went to Cambridge.

00:29:29I knew that.

00:29:31And that he was well off.

00:29:33He had no brothers or sisters.

00:29:35And his parents were dead.

00:29:37Oh, yes.

00:29:38He liked cars.

00:29:40And he was good at games.

00:29:41Was that all you knew?

00:29:42Didn't you ask any more of your mother?

00:29:44Yes, I did.

00:29:45But, well, she always said that talking about him upset her.

00:29:49She always said,

00:29:50you don't want to go on upsetting me, do you?

00:29:51So stop asking these questions.

00:29:54Now, you knew, did you not?

00:29:55Not only that he'd been to Cambridge,

00:29:56but you knew the name of his college.

00:29:59Oh, yes.

00:30:00Mum did tell me that once.

00:30:01Trinity Hall.

00:30:02And you told Mr McDowell this, didn't you, in about July?

00:30:06I told him all sorts of things.

00:30:08Yes.

00:30:08I trusted him.

00:30:09And he suggested that you should write to Trinity Hall

00:30:12in case they had a photograph of your father somewhere.

00:30:14Yes.

00:30:15And you did write, didn't you?

00:30:17Yes.

00:30:19And the college did have a photograph.

00:30:20And they sent you a copy.

00:30:22So you discovered what your father looked like.

00:30:25Yes.

00:30:26And you discovered from the college something else, didn't you?

00:30:28That your father was alive.

00:30:30Well, that's what they said, but they were wrong.

00:30:32How do you know?

00:30:32Because if he was alive, he'd have wanted to see me.

00:30:35The college got it all wrong.

00:30:37Well, they were talking about someone else called Sumner.

00:30:40I mean, there must be thousands of people called Sumner.

00:30:42You know, if you...

00:30:43I'll come to all this later, Miss Sumner,

00:30:44but the fact is that in July,

00:30:46the college sent you a photograph.

00:30:48And with it, a covering letter from the head porter

00:30:50saying that he assumed you were a relation of Archibald Sumner

00:30:53and therefore might like his present address.

00:30:56And you told Mr McDowell this,

00:30:58and you showed him the photograph on Sunday, the 2nd of September.

00:31:02Now, may we be a show on Exhibit 4, please?

00:31:07Is that the photograph, Miss Sumner?

00:31:12Yes.

00:31:13Yes, that's the one.

00:31:14I tore it up.

00:31:18If Mrs Sumner wishes to look at this photograph later on,

00:31:21she may do so.

00:31:23No doubt she will be able to tell us

00:31:24whether the college has got her husband confused with someone else or not.

00:31:28I'd rather not see it, if you don't mind.

00:31:30I have no wish to see it.

00:31:33We shan't make you, Mrs Sumner.

00:31:35Now, when you received this photograph

00:31:38and the letter from your father's old college,

00:31:40did you not then discuss the matter with your mother?

00:31:44Why not?

00:31:45Well, I thought obviously she didn't want me to know about him.

00:31:49I thought she might stop me...

00:31:51well, interfere.

00:31:53Well, it was obviously no good talking to her about him, was it?

00:31:57And then you said,

00:31:58if we went for Noel Dobbs' record,

00:32:00we could go and look for father too.

00:32:02Will you take...

00:32:02No, it was his idea to go to Scotland.

00:32:05Miss Sumner, just answer the question.

00:32:06Did you say the words I've just read out?

00:32:08No.

00:32:09And Mr McDowell said,

00:32:10you couldn't go without your mother's permission.

00:32:12No, he said I wasn't to tell anyone.

00:32:14And then he said he would take you

00:32:16if your mother agreed

00:32:17and that you were to ask her and let him know.

00:32:19No, that's not true.

00:32:20He knew if I asked my mother,

00:32:21she wouldn't let me go.

00:32:23But he just kept on saying,

00:32:25come on, Fee, it'll be such fun

00:32:26and how smashing the weather was

00:32:28and wouldn't I like to see my dad?

00:32:30What was the factor that persuaded you to go?

00:32:32The chance to see your father?

00:32:34Well, I wouldn't have gone otherwise.

00:32:35And this was his suggestion and not yours?

00:32:38Yes.

00:32:39And the journey,

00:32:41on the journey,

00:32:42you and Mr McDowell,

00:32:43you got on very well, didn't you?

00:32:44You called him Phil

00:32:45and he called you Fee.

00:32:47Yes.

00:32:48Yes.

00:32:48And the weather was very beautiful, wasn't it?

00:32:50And you had picnics?

00:32:52Yes.

00:32:53And you were really enjoying yourself.

00:32:56You were really enjoying getting away from home,

00:32:58away from your mother

00:32:59for the first time in your life.

00:33:01Won't you?

00:33:03Yes.

00:33:04Yes.

00:33:04And then, when you got to John O'Groats,

00:33:06you wanted to go and see your father.

00:33:08Oh, I did want to see my father, yes.

00:33:10Yes.

00:33:10But it was early in the morning

00:33:11when you got to John O'Groats, wasn't it?

00:33:12And you were both tired

00:33:14and Mr McDowell said that you ought to telephone first.

00:33:17So you both slept until nine o'clock.

00:33:20Yes.

00:33:21And then you telephoned and spoke to your father

00:33:23and asked if you could go and see him.

00:33:27And he said there would be no purpose in your going.

00:33:29He had no daughter.

00:33:31And you pleaded with your father to let you see him.

00:33:33I keep on telling you he's not my father.

00:33:35The college got it all wrong.

00:33:37But your father put the telephone down

00:33:38and Mr McDowell said,

00:33:40come on, Fee, we'd better go back to Fullchester.

00:33:43I'll take you home tomorrow.

00:33:44No, that's not so.

00:33:45All the time he was there, he kept on saying,

00:33:48let's go to the West Coast.

00:33:49Let's go and see the island.

00:33:51You were very upset, angry.

00:33:53Yes, and Mr McDowell said,

00:33:54Fee, he doesn't want to see you.

00:33:56Just forget him.

00:33:57And you ran out of the telephone box

00:33:59and he ran after you and caught hold of you.

00:34:02And you pulled yourself away and fell over.

00:34:04And that's how you got those bruises on your wrists.

00:34:07And then you ran off.

00:34:08Now that's all correct, isn't it?

00:34:10Is that correct?

00:34:14Yes.

00:34:15Yes.

00:34:17Now somehow, you made your way to Thurso.

00:34:20And Mr McDowell had driven there too.

00:34:21And he was waiting for you

00:34:22in the road outside your father's house.

00:34:25Now you went up the drive.

00:34:26By herself?

00:34:28Yes, my lord.

00:34:29And you rang the bell.

00:34:31But your father didn't answer the door to you.

00:34:33And when you came back down the drive,

00:34:35you were crying.

00:34:37Now that's right, isn't it?

00:34:39Yes.

00:34:40And Mr McDowell had got out of his car

00:34:42and he was waiting for you.

00:34:43And he said,

00:34:44Come on, Fee, I'll take you home.

00:34:46And you said that you'd wished

00:34:47he'd never brought you there.

00:34:49You'd wished you'd stayed at home.

00:34:50You said it was all his fault.

00:34:52And that you'd never have known

00:34:53your father was alive

00:34:54if he hadn't suggested

00:34:55you should write to the colleague.

00:34:56He's not my father!

00:34:58What makes you so sure, Miss Sumner?

00:34:59Because when I went up the drive

00:35:01and rang the bell,

00:35:03he just shouted through the door,

00:35:04Go away, young woman!

00:35:06I won't open the door,

00:35:08so go away!

00:35:10Well, if he was my father,

00:35:11he wouldn't have done that, would he?

00:35:13So you never saw your...

00:35:15this man at all?

00:35:16No!

00:35:18He just shouted through the door!

00:35:29What did you do in the evenings,

00:35:42Mr McDowell,

00:35:42or at weekends?

00:35:44I worked on the car, mostly.

00:35:46I was upholstering it,

00:35:48bit by bit.

00:35:49Renovating it?

00:35:50Yes.

00:35:50It's a chummy, isn't it?

00:35:52It's an Austin 7 tourer, my lord.

00:35:54It became known as the chummy later, yes.

00:35:571935?

00:35:571930, my lord.

00:36:00And when did Fiona Sumner

00:36:01start visiting you at your garage?

00:36:04About May, it must have been.

00:36:06I knew her by sight, anyhow.

00:36:09One evening I just looked up

00:36:10and there she was,

00:36:12standing at the garage door.

00:36:14Did you grow to like her?

00:36:15Yes, I thought she was a nice girl

00:36:17and she seemed a bit lonely,

00:36:19being an only child.

00:36:20What on earth did you

00:36:21and a 14-year-old girl find in common?

00:36:23What did you talk about?

00:36:25All sorts, my lord.

00:36:26Well, what she wanted to do in life

00:36:29and, well, all sorts.

00:36:33And did she sometimes help you with the car?

00:36:35Oh, yes.

00:36:37Now, we've heard that a Mr. Noel Dobbs

00:36:39from Fulchester...

00:36:40Um, absolutely.

00:36:42Well, near Fulchester.

00:36:43Drove his Austin 7 from Fulchester

00:36:45to John O'Groats in August.

00:36:46Now, that's right, isn't it?

00:36:47Yes, it's 477 miles.

00:36:49He did it in 14 hours and 6 minutes.

00:36:51That's an average of 34 miles per hour.

00:36:53Well, I say, that's very fast.

00:36:55I'm sure the Austin 7 that I had in 1938

00:36:57would never have done it as quickly as that.

00:36:59Yes, well, it takes a bit of time to get up speed,

00:37:01but they're faster than people think.

00:37:03If they're taken care of, that is, they're very...

00:37:05Yes, well, I don't think we'll go into that now.

00:37:07Now, this fellow, Dobbs, wasn't it?

00:37:10He made this record run

00:37:12and you thought that you would like to do a run too.

00:37:14Now, why didn't you ask your own children to go with him?

00:37:16Well, they weren't interested in...

00:37:18Robert gets bored in cars

00:37:21and Alison, well, she has her friends.

00:37:25Did you ask her to come?

00:37:26Oh, yes, yes.

00:37:27Ten days before.

00:37:28Oh, they would both have been at school anyway.

00:37:31Fiona Sumner missed school

00:37:32on account of this trip of yours.

00:37:33That didn't seem to worry you?

00:37:35Well, no.

00:37:38It would only have been for a couple of days.

00:37:41Now, whose idea was it

00:37:42that you and she should go to Scotland together?

00:37:45Oh, hers.

00:37:46She said that...

00:37:47Oh, when?

00:37:48On the Sunday evening.

00:37:49Sunday, September the 2nd, it would be.

00:37:52She showed me the photograph of her father

00:37:54that the college had sent her

00:37:56and she said,

00:37:56if we went for the record,

00:37:58we could go and look for father.

00:37:59Will you take me?

00:38:01Those were her exact words?

00:38:03Yes, yes.

00:38:04Well, at first I said no

00:38:05and then she said that she'd go anyway

00:38:07even if I didn't take her.

00:38:09Now, did you tell your wife

00:38:10what you planned to do?

00:38:12Yes.

00:38:13And she agreed?

00:38:15Yes.

00:38:16And did you make any arrangements

00:38:17to get off work?

00:38:20Mr McDowell,

00:38:21did you make any arrangements

00:38:22to get off work?

00:38:24Yes.

00:38:25Now, was Fiona Sumner happy

00:38:27during the journey?

00:38:28Oh, yes.

00:38:29Yes, very happy.

00:38:30Well, Sunday was beautiful.

00:38:31I even thought of having

00:38:32the windscreen open.

00:38:34We got a bit tired,

00:38:35but we were in good spirits.

00:38:37How do you know she was happy?

00:38:39Well, she was laughing and joking.

00:38:42And did Fiona try to get away from you

00:38:44on those occasions when you stopped?

00:38:45No, why should she?

00:38:47Would you have tried to stop her

00:38:48if she'd wanted to go?

00:38:50Well, I...

00:38:51I'd have tried to take her

00:38:53to a station or something.

00:38:54Yes.

00:38:55Now, what happened

00:38:55when you got to John O'Groats?

00:38:57Well, Fee was all...

00:38:58Fiona was all for ringing

00:39:01her father there and then,

00:39:02but I said you couldn't do that

00:39:04at that hour of the morning

00:39:06and I suggested

00:39:07that she got some sleep first.

00:39:10So she curled up with a rug

00:39:12in the front seat of the car

00:39:13and I wandered around for a bit.

00:39:17Did she make a phone call

00:39:18later that day?

00:39:20Yes.

00:39:20I woke her at nine

00:39:21and we went to a telephone box

00:39:24and we looked up this number.

00:39:25Whose number?

00:39:26His.

00:39:27And...

00:39:28I'm sorry.

00:39:30Her father's.

00:39:31And were you in the telephone box

00:39:32when she rang?

00:39:33Yes, yes.

00:39:34She asked to speak to

00:39:35Mr. Archibald Sumner

00:39:37and when he answered

00:39:39she said,

00:39:40this is Fiona speaking.

00:39:43I'm your daughter.

00:39:45He replied that he hadn't got a daughter,

00:39:47that she must have got

00:39:48the wrong Sumner

00:39:49and he said that

00:39:50there was no purpose

00:39:51in her coming to see him.

00:39:53And did you say something?

00:39:55Yes, I suggested that she...

00:39:57came back to Fulchester.

00:39:58I said I'd take her home

00:39:59the next day

00:40:00after we'd rested for a bit.

00:40:02Well, she was very upset.

00:40:04She was crying,

00:40:05as you'd expect.

00:40:06Yes.

00:40:07Now, I don't think there's any dispute

00:40:08about what happened after that,

00:40:09Mr. McDowell.

00:40:10There was a struggle

00:40:10and she and you

00:40:11made your way independently

00:40:13to Archibald Sumner's house

00:40:14where she was turned away

00:40:15from the door

00:40:16and then you returned

00:40:17to John O'Groats

00:40:17to book her hotel

00:40:18at which moment she disappeared

00:40:20leaving a note saying

00:40:21that she was going home

00:40:22and you were not to follow her.

00:40:24That's correct, yes.

00:40:25Did you follow her?

00:40:25No, no, I thought

00:40:27she would be better off

00:40:28on her own.

00:40:29Now, did you at any time

00:40:30suggest that you and she

00:40:31should go off

00:40:32on a tour of the west of Scotland?

00:40:33No.

00:40:35Oh, I did once mention

00:40:38that it would be

00:40:38a nice thing to do.

00:40:40But you never made

00:40:40a specific suggestion

00:40:41that you and she should go?

00:40:43No.

00:40:44After she'd left

00:40:45John O'Groats on the Monday,

00:40:46what did you do?

00:40:46I stayed the night

00:40:48at the hotel

00:40:49and then I went off

00:40:51to the west coast.

00:40:52Ah, so you did go

00:40:53to the west coast?

00:40:54Oh, yes.

00:40:55Yes, but I never proposed

00:40:57to her that she should come.

00:40:58I only went after

00:40:59she had gone.

00:41:00Why?

00:41:02Well, um,

00:41:03I really couldn't think

00:41:05of anything else to do.

00:41:06I mean, I wasn't expected

00:41:08home for a few days,

00:41:09you see.

00:41:10You, in fact,

00:41:10returned home to Fullchester

00:41:12on Friday, the 14th of September.

00:41:14Yes.

00:41:15Yes.

00:41:15Thank you, Mr McDowell.

00:41:16Will you wait there, please?

00:41:18Mr McDowell,

00:41:20now just tell me

00:41:21whether I understand

00:41:22your case correctly.

00:41:25Miss Sumner suggested

00:41:26she should accompany you

00:41:27on a trip to Scotland

00:41:28to enable her to visit

00:41:29her imaginary father

00:41:30and for you to break

00:41:31Mr Dobbs' record for the run.

00:41:33That's right, yes.

00:41:34She persuaded you to take her.

00:41:37You did not persuade her.

00:41:38You obtained a week's holiday

00:41:39from Mr Gerard,

00:41:40the manager at the bank.

00:41:41You obtained your wife's consent

00:41:43and Fiona Sumner told you

00:41:44that her mother

00:41:45had given her consent.

00:41:47Yes.

00:41:47And your intention

00:41:48was to do the run,

00:41:49perhaps wait

00:41:49whilst the girl

00:41:50saw this imagined father

00:41:52and then come straight back

00:41:53a trip of a week at the most.

00:41:55Yes, that's right.

00:41:56Now,

00:41:56when you were arrested

00:41:58by Sergeant Crossman,

00:41:59he told you of your right

00:42:00to remain silent.

00:42:02Yes.

00:42:03Yes, but you nevertheless

00:42:04selected to say something.

00:42:06You said...

00:42:08Do what you like with me.

00:42:10My wife's left me.

00:42:12I've lost my job.

00:42:14Everything's finished.

00:42:16I had nothing to do

00:42:18with the girl's disappearance.

00:42:21Now, when you elected

00:42:22not to exercise your right

00:42:23to remain silent

00:42:24if the story you're now telling us

00:42:26is true,

00:42:28why on earth

00:42:29did you not tell it

00:42:30to Sergeant Crossman?

00:42:31I didn't think.

00:42:34Exactly.

00:42:35You hadn't thought it up then,

00:42:36but you have now.

00:42:38It's the truth.

00:42:40Now, it's right, is it not,

00:42:41that your employers

00:42:42gave you a mortgage

00:42:42on your house

00:42:43some ten years ago?

00:42:45Yes.

00:42:46Yes.

00:42:46And that mortgage

00:42:47has now been called in,

00:42:48has it not?

00:42:50I'm trying to get another,

00:42:51but it's very difficult.

00:42:52You see,

00:42:53I'm still unemployed.

00:42:54Yes, quite.

00:42:54We're not concerned with that.

00:42:55The point I'm getting at

00:42:56is that the mortgage

00:42:57has been called in

00:42:58because you defaulted

00:42:59on your repayments

00:43:00and you defaulted on those

00:43:02because on the Friday

00:43:02before your trip to Scotland

00:43:04you withdrew

00:43:05£250 in cash

00:43:08from the joint account

00:43:09with your wife.

00:43:09No, no, look,

00:43:10it's not correct.

00:43:11You see, with the bank

00:43:11if an employee leaves

00:43:13then the mortgage

00:43:14becomes repayable at once.

00:43:16Well, when I was sacked

00:43:18my mortgage became repayable.

00:43:21Oh, is that so?

00:43:23In any event,

00:43:23you did draw out all that money

00:43:25leaving only £5 in the account.

00:43:27Now, what did you want

00:43:27all that money for?

00:43:29An extended tour for two

00:43:30of the west coast of Scotland?

00:43:32I've already explained.

00:43:34I only decided on that

00:43:36because I couldn't think

00:43:37of anything else to do.

00:43:39Oh, really?

00:43:40Now, you've told us

00:43:41that Fiona told you

00:43:42that her mother

00:43:43had agreed to the trip.

00:43:44Yes.

00:43:45Did you believe Fiona

00:43:46when she told you that?

00:43:48I did, yes.

00:43:49Oh, come on now, Mr McDowell.

00:43:51You believed

00:43:51that a woman would agree

00:43:53to her 14-year-old daughter

00:43:54going away with a man

00:43:56to whom she'd barely ever spoken.

00:43:58It sounds silly, I know.

00:44:00Well, look, if your daughter

00:44:01had come and asked you

00:44:02if she could go away

00:44:03on a trip

00:44:03with a 40-year-old married man

00:44:05who you'd never met,

00:44:06would you have agreed?

00:44:09Nonsense, isn't it?

00:44:12Now, you say that you asked

00:44:13your wife about the trip

00:44:14and she agreed.

00:44:15Yes.

00:44:15Well, when and where

00:44:17did this conversation take place?

00:44:20At home,

00:44:22in the sitting room,

00:44:23one evening after supper.

00:44:25It would be Thursday,

00:44:27September the 6th.

00:44:28Was anyone else present

00:44:30during this conversation?

00:44:33Robert, my son,

00:44:35well, he was in the house,

00:44:36but there was no one else

00:44:37in the room.

00:44:38You told your wife

00:44:39that Fiona Sumner

00:44:40was going away with you.

00:44:42Yes.

00:44:43And she agreed?

00:44:45Yes.

00:44:45Well, had you ever before this

00:44:47asked your wife

00:44:47to agree to your going away

00:44:49with the teenage girl?

00:44:50No.

00:44:51And your wife agreed

00:44:52without any objection

00:44:54just like that?

00:44:56Yes.

00:44:57Come on now, Mr McDowell.

00:44:58Your wife has left you,

00:44:59hasn't she?

00:45:01I don't know if it's definite.

00:45:03Well, is she living with you?

00:45:05No.

00:45:06No, she and Alison,

00:45:07that's my daughter,

00:45:09they're staying at her mother's.

00:45:10I've asked her to come back,

00:45:11but she said she'll make up

00:45:13her mind after this.

00:45:15This trial?

00:45:16Yes.

00:45:16Why did she leave you?

00:45:18I don't know.

00:45:19Oh, come on now, Mr McDowell,

00:45:20your wife has left you

00:45:22and you don't know why.

00:45:23I don't.

00:45:24Well, have you asked her?

00:45:26No.

00:45:28Was your marriage unhappy

00:45:29by September of 1973?

00:45:32Not as such.

00:45:33What do you mean, as such?

00:45:34It's either yes or no.

00:45:36No.

00:45:37So your wife left you,

00:45:38did she not,

00:45:39because you took this trip

00:45:40with the girl

00:45:41without telling her

00:45:42and because you drew out

00:45:43from the bank

00:45:43the only means of support

00:45:45available for your family?

00:45:46I asked her.

00:45:47She agreed.

00:45:49Your wife is in court today,

00:45:53is she not?

00:45:54Yes.

00:45:55Well, can I take it therefore

00:45:55that she's not going to give evidence

00:45:57to back you up?

00:45:58She won't give evidence.

00:45:59She won't lie for you,

00:46:00is that it?

00:46:00No.

00:46:01No, she just won't do anything

00:46:03for me anymore.

00:46:06And when Sergeant Crossman

00:46:07asked you

00:46:08if you'd gone alone

00:46:08to Scotland,

00:46:09you said,

00:46:10yes, didn't you?

00:46:12And that was a lie,

00:46:13wasn't it?

00:46:14Yes.

00:46:14Well, if you'd done

00:46:15nothing wrong,

00:46:17if your wife assented,

00:46:19and so far as you knew

00:46:20Fiona's mother had assented,

00:46:22why did you have to lie?

00:46:23Why did you have to conceal

00:46:24that Fiona had been with you?

00:46:26I don't know.

00:46:26I just said it.

00:46:28You lied,

00:46:29and you don't know why.

00:46:30Well, that's not the only lie,

00:46:32is it?

00:46:33Another lie

00:46:34is in the suggestion

00:46:35that Mr Gerard

00:46:36agreed to your having

00:46:36a week's holiday.

00:46:37Okay.

00:46:37Yes?

00:46:44It's a lie?

00:46:45It's all untrue?

00:46:46Yes.

00:46:48Did you not

00:46:49go and see

00:46:50Mr Gerard,

00:46:51the manager?

00:46:53Mr Golding,

00:46:53I take a very serious

00:46:54view of this.

00:46:56Mr Gerard

00:46:56was cross-examined

00:46:57on the basis

00:46:58that the accused

00:46:58had paid his permission

00:46:59to take a week off.

00:47:01When Mr Gerard

00:47:02denied this,

00:47:04it was inferred

00:47:04that he was lying.

00:47:06Yet now

00:47:06your client

00:47:07withdraws

00:47:07the entire

00:47:08allegation.

00:47:09I think an apology

00:47:10is owed to Mr Gerard.

00:47:11I give it most readily,

00:47:12my lord.

00:47:12Yes,

00:47:12I expected you to behave

00:47:13with your usual courtesy,

00:47:14Mr Golding,

00:47:15but it is your client

00:47:16who should be apologising.

00:47:19May I say something?

00:47:20Yes,

00:47:20I think you should.

00:47:21I didn't ask Mr Gerard

00:47:22for the week off.

00:47:24I did upset my wife

00:47:25and my daughter.

00:47:27Well,

00:47:27now they've left.

00:47:29I did draw

00:47:30all that money out

00:47:30and I didn't tell my wife

00:47:32that I was going.

00:47:33But I didn't persuade

00:47:34Fiona to go.

00:47:35That was her idea

00:47:36and I'm still glad

00:47:37that we went

00:47:37because we were happy.

00:47:38We were really happy

00:47:39up there in Scotland

00:47:40with the car.

00:47:40We were both happy.

00:47:41I mean,

00:47:42she didn't come to any harm

00:47:43because of me,

00:47:43only because of her family

00:47:44and the stupid ideas

00:47:46about not telling her

00:47:47that her father was alive.

00:47:48people say that I'm disgusting.

00:47:52Well,

00:47:53I'm not

00:47:54and I'm not ashamed.

00:47:56I went because,

00:47:59well,

00:47:59because I'm over 40

00:48:01and I'm fed up

00:48:02with the bank

00:48:02and my wife

00:48:03and my kids

00:48:03and I have no reason

00:48:04to stay together anymore.

00:48:05Well,

00:48:05there's no love there.

00:48:06There's no affection.

00:48:09I wanted for once

00:48:10in my life

00:48:10to do something spontaneous,

00:48:12something adventurous,

00:48:13something that I wanted to do,

00:48:14not that other people

00:48:15told me to do.

00:48:16And when I did it,

00:48:17I was exhilarated

00:48:18and I drew all my money out

00:48:19because I wasn't coming back.

00:48:20But you did come back.

00:48:23Didn't you?

00:48:43The case of the Queen

00:48:44against McDowell

00:48:45will be resumed tomorrow

00:48:46in the Crown Court.

00:49:08At the end of August 1973,

00:49:1140-year-old bank clerk

00:49:12Philip McDowell

00:49:13returned with his wife

00:49:14and two teenage children

00:49:15from their annual holiday

00:49:16in Wales.

00:49:18Within six weeks,

00:49:18his wife had left him,

00:49:19he'd lost his job,

00:49:20his mortgage was in arrears

00:49:21and he was charged

00:49:23with abducting

00:49:23a 14-year-old girl,

00:49:24Fiona,

00:49:25who lived in the same road.

00:49:27The girl has not been

00:49:27interfered with sexually

00:49:28and makes no complaints

00:49:30of his having made advances

00:49:31to her.

00:49:32But she has claimed

00:49:32that Philip McDowell

00:49:33persuaded her

00:49:34to go with him

00:49:35without her mother's consent

00:49:36to Scotland

00:49:37in search of her father,

00:49:38whom she's never seen

00:49:39and whom she until recently

00:49:41believed to be dead.

00:49:42McDowell denies this,

00:49:44saying that on the contrary

00:49:45it was Fiona

00:49:45who persuaded him.

00:49:47The trial is now

00:49:47in its third day.

00:49:49You say you were unsettled

00:49:50when you came back

00:49:50from your family holiday

00:49:51in August.

00:49:52Was your marriage

00:49:52positively unhappy?

00:49:54Well,

00:49:55not unhappy as such.

00:49:57I wasn't really sure

00:49:57what it was.

00:49:58All I knew was that

00:49:59I had to get away

00:50:00from Fulchester.

00:50:01Once I got up to Scotland,

00:50:04after Fiona had left,

00:50:05I began to see things

00:50:08more clearly.

00:50:09It was...

00:50:11Well,

00:50:11it had become more

00:50:12of a routine

00:50:13than a marriage.

00:50:15I hadn't been

00:50:16making a proper effort.

00:50:17I let everything

00:50:18get into a routine.

00:50:19You weren't sharing at all

00:50:20in each other's interests.

00:50:22Well,

00:50:22it was all right

00:50:23on holiday

00:50:23with the children,

00:50:25going for walks

00:50:26and picnics

00:50:27and things in Wales,

00:50:28but when we got home,

00:50:29when my wife

00:50:31went back

00:50:31to the housework

00:50:32and I got on

00:50:34with the car.

00:50:37Did your wife

00:50:38take any interest

00:50:39in your car?

00:50:40Your hobby?

00:50:41No, no.

00:50:41She said it was silly.

00:50:43Didn't she ever go out

00:50:44for runs with you

00:50:45in your car?

00:50:46No.

00:50:47Then you can see

00:50:47her point of view.

00:50:49Old cars do break down

00:50:51and some people

00:50:51think they're funny.

00:50:53Did your car

00:50:53break down a lot?

00:50:54Oh, no.

00:50:55An Austin 7's

00:50:56very reliable,

00:50:57if you take care of it,

00:50:58that is.

00:50:59I left it out

00:51:00all night

00:51:00during that hard winter

00:51:01we had.

00:51:021962, was it?

00:51:04When we had

00:51:0420 degrees of frost.

00:51:05Well, it started

00:51:06first thing in the morning

00:51:07as soon as I touched

00:51:07the starter.

00:51:09Anyhow,

00:51:09your wife never took

00:51:10any interest

00:51:10in your motoring activities.

00:51:12Now, did she

00:51:13nag you about the car?

00:51:15Well,

00:51:15not nag.

00:51:17As such,

00:51:17she used to say,

00:51:18why couldn't we

00:51:19get a proper car?

00:51:20You can see

00:51:20her point of view.

00:51:21What else was going on

00:51:22when you came back

00:51:23from your holiday

00:51:23which made you feel

00:51:24unsettled?

00:51:25Did you get on

00:51:26well with the children?

00:51:27Well,

00:51:28they're good kids

00:51:29like any other teenagers.

00:51:32Robert's 16 now.

00:51:35Alison's 13.

00:51:37Well, they're noisy.

00:51:38They like playing records,

00:51:39watching television,

00:51:40never going out

00:51:41and doing something.

00:51:42I let it get a bit

00:51:44on top of me.

00:51:44So what you're saying

00:51:45is that you realised

00:51:46all this when you

00:51:46were up in Scotland

00:51:47and had time to think

00:51:48and that's why

00:51:48you came back

00:51:49instead of driving

00:51:50perpetually into the sunset

00:51:52in your 35-year-old

00:51:54motor car.

00:51:55Oh, yes.

00:51:57And the fact that,

00:51:59well, my family

00:52:00is my responsibility

00:52:01and I'd left them,

00:52:03well, virtually destitute,

00:52:05let's admit it.

00:52:06Your wife has not

00:52:06come back to you?

00:52:07No.

00:52:08She and Alison

00:52:09are staying at her mother's.

00:52:10Mr. Golding, anything else?

00:52:12No, my lord.

00:52:13Very well,

00:52:13you may return to the dock.

00:52:15I call Robert McDowell.

00:52:18Robert McDowell, please.

00:52:26You are Mr. Philip McDowell's son?

00:52:28Yes, sir.

00:52:28You're 16?

00:52:29Yes, sir.

00:52:30You believe in God

00:52:30and understand the meaning of an oath?

00:52:32Well, I think I believe enough

00:52:33to take the oath,

00:52:34if that's what you mean.

00:52:35Anyway, let him be sworn.

00:52:37Take the Bible in your right hand

00:52:38and read aloud

00:52:39the words on the card.

00:52:40I swear by almighty God

00:52:42that the evidence I shall give

00:52:43shall be the truth,

00:52:44the whole truth

00:52:45and nothing but the truth.

00:52:47You are Robert Edwin McDowell,

00:52:49the son of the accused?

00:52:50Yes, sir.

00:52:50And where do you live?

00:52:51The Furs,

00:52:5219 Stapleton Avenue,

00:52:53Fulchester.

00:52:54Were you aware

00:52:55that your father intended

00:52:56to go on this run to Scotland?

00:52:57That is to say,

00:52:58aware before he left?

00:52:59No, sir.

00:53:00After your father had left,

00:53:01did your mother stay at home?

00:53:03Yes, Alice and my sister

00:53:04stayed until Friday,

00:53:05just before Dad got back.

00:53:06And what happened

00:53:07when your father came home?

00:53:08Well, we knew he was all right

00:53:09because he telephoned on Tuesday

00:53:11and told us he was in Scotland.

00:53:12You hadn't been to the police by then?

00:53:14No.

00:53:15We were going to report him missing

00:53:16the following day.

00:53:17We'd decided that,

00:53:18but then he phoned,

00:53:19so we didn't.

00:53:20Your mother and Alison

00:53:21left before your father got back.

00:53:23Why was that?

00:53:25Well, it was all the gossip.

00:53:26The dad had actually run off

00:53:28with Fiona Sumner.

00:53:29Well, they were behaving like lunatics,

00:53:31so they just walked out of the house.

00:53:33They believed it.

00:53:34You didn't.

00:53:35Well, it's a question

00:53:35of giving someone a hearing

00:53:36before you convict them,

00:53:37isn't it, sir?

00:53:38Yes, yes, it is indeed.

00:53:40Mr Golding.

00:53:42Did your father tell you something

00:53:43about what he'd been doing?

00:53:44Well, Lord, the witness

00:53:45really cannot be allowed

00:53:46to answer that question.

00:53:47Mr Golding?

00:53:48My Lord, my learned friend

00:53:50in cross-examining my client

00:53:51has suggested that

00:53:52recent, certain of his evidence

00:53:53is a recent fabrication.

00:53:55Well, in these circumstances,

00:53:56I am clearly entitled

00:53:57to incall evidence

00:53:59of a previous consistent nature.

00:54:01Yes, yes, that must be right.

00:54:03Mustn't it, Mr Lloyd?

00:54:05Yes, my Lord,

00:54:06but only if the questions

00:54:08and the answers

00:54:09are confined to statements

00:54:11which I have suggested

00:54:12to be recent fabrications.

00:54:16Will you now answer the question?

00:54:18Yes, sir.

00:54:19He told me that it was Fiona's idea

00:54:21that she should come

00:54:22and that she told him,

00:54:23that's Dad,

00:54:24that her mother said it was okay.

00:54:27He said he and Fiona

00:54:28hadn't been up to anything.

00:54:29Any what?

00:54:30He didn't say, sir,

00:54:31but I think he was referring to sex.

00:54:33I think you should know

00:54:34that your father

00:54:35is not charged

00:54:36with any sexual offence.

00:54:38Anything else, Mr Golding?

00:54:40No, my Lord.

00:54:42Your mother and sister

00:54:43have not stood by your father.

00:54:45They've left.

00:54:45Yes, sir.

00:54:46Dad thinks they might come back,

00:54:48but I know they won't.

00:54:49You, however,

00:54:50have decided to stick by him?

00:54:51Yes, sir.

00:54:52I take it, then,

00:54:52that you don't disapprove

00:54:54of what your father has done?

00:54:55Well, it's not all his fault

00:54:56for a start, sir.

00:54:58Well, all the neighbours

00:54:59are jabbering away,

00:54:59blaming him for everything,

00:55:01calling him a disgusting pig.

00:55:03But all he's done

00:55:04is make a break

00:55:05from a bad situation

00:55:06with a girl

00:55:07looking for an imaginary father.

00:55:08What do you mean

00:55:08by a bad situation?

00:55:10Well, sir,

00:55:10as I see it now,

00:55:12we'd got ourselves

00:55:13into two camps.

00:55:14There was Mum and Ali

00:55:15on one side

00:55:16who didn't take

00:55:16the slightest interest

00:55:17in anything

00:55:18except household equipment,

00:55:19women's magazines

00:55:20and pop music.

00:55:21But they did care about

00:55:23what the other cared about.

00:55:24And neither did we

00:55:25care about them.

00:55:27Mum and Ali

00:55:28did all the cooking

00:55:28and so on.

00:55:29We ate the food,

00:55:30took it all for granted,

00:55:31Dad and I.

00:55:32But we even

00:55:33ignored each other.

00:55:34Oh, the question

00:55:34I had asked

00:55:35was that I take it

00:55:36you don't disapprove

00:55:37of what your father's done.

00:55:39Well, you've answered that.

00:55:40But would I be right

00:55:41in saying that you

00:55:41actually approve

00:55:42of what he's done?

00:55:44Yes, I do.

00:55:45Well, it was the right thing to do,

00:55:46bring everything to an issue.

00:55:48Well, if Mum could only see it

00:55:50and Alison,

00:55:50it could be all right now.

00:55:52You approve

00:55:52of your father's actions

00:55:54and you've decided

00:55:54to see him

00:55:55through thick and thin.

00:55:56Yes, sir.

00:55:57And that is why

00:55:57you are lying for him,

00:55:59is it not?

00:56:00Lying about what he told you.

00:56:01Is he allowed to say that?

00:56:03Yes, he is.

00:56:04Just answer.

00:56:05Well, the answer is

00:56:06that I'm not lying.

00:56:08What do you think

00:56:08of these proceedings?

00:56:10Oh, stupid.

00:56:12My father's a normal man.

00:56:13He was fed up.

00:56:15It's all a waste of time.

00:56:17You feel scorn

00:56:18for the whole proceeding?

00:56:19Yes, sir.

00:56:20Must make it much easier

00:56:21to tell lies

00:56:22in proceedings

00:56:22which you hold

00:56:24in such scorn.

00:56:25I'm not lying, sir.

00:56:27And Fiona knows it.

00:56:29I have no re-examination.

00:56:30Very well.

00:56:30You may leave

00:56:31the witness room.

00:56:33I call Alison McDowell.

00:56:35Alison McDowell, please.

00:56:36Alison, you're 13,

00:56:47is that right?

00:56:48Yes.

00:56:49Do you understand

00:56:49the meaning

00:56:50of an oath in court?

00:56:51Yes, it means

00:56:52I swear to tell the truth.

00:56:54Here you will.

00:56:55Take the Bible

00:56:56in your right hand

00:56:56and read aloud

00:56:57the words on the card.

00:56:58I promise before

00:57:00Almighty God

00:57:00to tell the truth,

00:57:02the whole truth,

00:57:02and nothing but the truth.

00:57:04Alison,

00:57:05what is your full name?

00:57:06Susan Alison McDowell.

00:57:07Where do you live?

00:57:0886 Fulchester Towers.

00:57:10With your grandma?

00:57:11And my mum, too.

00:57:12Mm-hmm.

00:57:13Did your father

00:57:13ever say anything to you

00:57:14about Noel Dobbs' record

00:57:16running his Austin 7th

00:57:17from Fulchester

00:57:17to John O'Groats?

00:57:19Yes.

00:57:20When was that?

00:57:21It was near

00:57:22the end of August.

00:57:24And what did he say?

00:57:25He asked if I'd like

00:57:27to go with him

00:57:28to John O'Groats

00:57:29to beat Noel Dobbs' record.

00:57:30And what did you say?

00:57:32I said I didn't want to.

00:57:33Can you remember

00:57:35exactly what you said?

00:57:36Yes.

00:57:37I said he must be joking.

00:57:39You said he must be joking.

00:57:42Did he ever ask you

00:57:43again about going?

00:57:44You mean about me going?

00:57:46No.

00:57:47Did he ever again

00:57:47discuss the trip with you?

00:57:49Yes.

00:57:50When?

00:57:51The week before he went.

00:57:52Went to Scotland?

00:57:54Yes.

00:57:55And what did he say?

00:57:57He said Fiona Sumner

00:57:58had asked if she could go with him.

00:58:00Go on.

00:58:05And would I mind

00:58:06if she went?

00:58:07You knew Fiona Sumner?

00:58:09She's at school.

00:58:10Only one form

00:58:11higher than me.

00:58:12Yes, I see.

00:58:13And what did you say?

00:58:14I said no.

00:58:15I didn't mind.

00:58:17Can you remember

00:58:18precisely what you said?

00:58:20I think I said I...

00:58:21I couldn't care less.

00:58:23You weren't interested

00:58:23in your father's old motor car.

00:58:29You've left home

00:58:30with your mother

00:58:31as I understand it.

00:58:33Yes.

00:58:33You're close to your mother.

00:58:35You're fond of her.

00:58:36You're closer to her

00:58:37than you are to your father.

00:58:39I suppose so.

00:58:41Now,

00:58:41did you tell your mother

00:58:42that your father

00:58:44had asked you

00:58:44to go to John O'Groats?

00:58:45No.

00:58:47No.

00:58:48Did you tell your mother

00:58:49that he told you

00:58:50that Fiona Sumner

00:58:51had asked if she

00:58:52could go with him?

00:58:54No.

00:58:55No.

00:58:56You're so close

00:58:57to your mother

00:58:58that you didn't mention it.

00:59:00No.

00:59:01No.

00:59:02Why not?

00:59:04I don't know.

00:59:05When your father disappeared

00:59:06you must have guessed

00:59:06that he'd gone to Scotland.

00:59:08Yes.

00:59:08And you noticed

00:59:09that Fiona was not at school.

00:59:11Yes.

00:59:12And you must have thought

00:59:12that Fiona had gone

00:59:13with your father.

00:59:15Yes.

00:59:16Well,

00:59:16why didn't you then

00:59:17tell your mother?

00:59:21But your mother

00:59:21must have noticed,

00:59:23I mean,

00:59:23you must have noticed

00:59:24that your mother

00:59:25was worried and upset.

00:59:27And are you really saying

00:59:28that you didn't tell her

00:59:29what you've told her now?

00:59:31I never told anyone

00:59:32except the solicitor.

00:59:34You mean your father's solicitor?

00:59:36Yes.

00:59:38Then,

00:59:38why did you not tell anyone?

00:59:41I didn't dare.

00:59:44What do you think

00:59:45about all this

00:59:46this trial?

00:59:49It's

00:59:49it's my fault.

00:59:52How can it be your fault?

00:59:54Well,

00:59:54if I said I'd go

00:59:55none of this

00:59:56would have happened.

00:59:58Everything would have been

00:59:59all right.

01:00:00Would you have enjoyed

01:00:01the trip?

01:00:02No,

01:00:03I wouldn't.

01:00:04I don't like

01:00:05Dad's old banger.

01:00:07I suppose I should have said

01:00:08I'd go all the same

01:00:09just to please him.

01:00:10And is it because

01:00:12you feel guilty,

01:00:14feel responsible

01:00:15that you're inventing

01:00:16these conversations

01:00:17with your father?

01:00:18I'm not inventing them.

01:00:21Honest.

01:00:22Aren't you?

01:00:23No.

01:00:24I have no re-examination,

01:00:26my lord.

01:00:26Well, you may go.

01:00:27I expect you should be

01:00:28at school, shouldn't you?

01:00:29Yes.

01:00:29She can be released,

01:00:30can't you?

01:00:30Please,

01:00:32I'd like to stay.

01:00:34Well, that's up to your mother,

01:00:35your parents,

01:00:36and your school.

01:00:37As far as I'm concerned,

01:00:38you are free to stay

01:00:39or go as you please.

01:00:41I call Archibald Sumner.

01:00:43Ah,

01:00:44the man who is reputed

01:00:45to be Fiona's

01:00:46long-lost father.

01:00:47Indeed, my lord.

01:01:00What is your religion?

01:01:08See thee.

01:01:08Take the book in your right hand

01:01:10and read aloud

01:01:10the words on the card.

01:01:12I swear by almighty God

01:01:13that the evidence

01:01:14I shall give

01:01:15shall be the truth,

01:01:16the whole truth,

01:01:16and nothing but the truth.

01:01:18What is your full name?

01:01:20Archibald Havelock Sumner.

01:01:22And where do you live?

01:01:23Old place, near Thurzo.

01:01:24Were you at one time

01:01:25married to Sarah Elizabeth Sumner?

01:01:27Yes, I was.

01:01:28And do you and she

01:01:29have a daughter,

01:01:29Sir Fiona, Sarah Sumner?

01:01:31Yes, though I have

01:01:32never seen her.

01:01:33And did you in September

01:01:34receive a telephone call

01:01:35from Fiona?

01:01:36From a girl who said

01:01:37she was my daughter,

01:01:37Fiona, yes.

01:01:39And I have no reason

01:01:40to doubt that it was she.

01:01:41And can you remember

01:01:42when that call was?

01:01:43Yes, it was in the morning

01:01:44of Monday the 10th of September.

01:01:46Did any conversation

01:01:47take place?

01:01:48Yes.

01:01:49She said,

01:01:50this is your daughter,

01:01:51Fiona, speaking.

01:01:52I said,

01:01:53I haven't got a daughter.

01:01:53You must have the wrong Sumner.

01:01:55A pun.

01:01:57She said,

01:01:57please,

01:01:58would you let me come

01:01:58and see you?

01:01:59I said there would be

01:02:00no purpose.

01:02:01And then what happened?

01:02:03I heard a man's voice say,

01:02:04we must get back

01:02:05to Fullchester.

01:02:06I put the telephone down

01:02:08and started to barricade

01:02:09myself in.

01:02:10As her mother's daughter,

01:02:12I knew I was in for trouble.

01:02:14And I was right.

01:02:15Yes, thank you.

01:02:18Well, can I go now?

01:02:20No, I'm afraid not.

01:02:22Mr Sumner,

01:02:23you and your wife

01:02:24parted with some bitterness.

01:02:26That, my dear sir,

01:02:27is the understatement

01:02:28of the century.

01:02:30No doubt she will have told you

01:02:31that I did certain things

01:02:32which,

01:02:34quote,

01:02:34no one could ever forgive,

01:02:36unquote.

01:02:37But there is another side

01:02:39to the story

01:02:39which I have no intention

01:02:40of relating

01:02:41and which I do not care

01:02:42to think about.

01:02:43It's over.

01:02:44It's buried.

01:02:46But unfortunately,

01:02:47Spectres,

01:02:48Gorgon,

01:02:48and vampires

01:02:49don't always remain

01:02:50in their graves.

01:02:52Yes, I can assure you,

01:02:52Mr Sumner,

01:02:53I wasn't prying for details.

01:02:55Now, just tell me this,

01:02:56does your bitterness

01:02:56extend towards your daughter?

01:02:59I have never met my daughter.

01:03:01I have no animosity towards her.

01:03:03I wish her well.

01:03:05After 15 years

01:03:06in the company of her mother,

01:03:07she probably needs

01:03:08all the help she can get.

01:03:10But I have no wish to meet her.

01:03:12No, she's not getting

01:03:13any help from you.

01:03:14No.

01:03:15I pay their maintenance

01:03:16and I shall go on paying it.

01:03:18But that is all.

01:03:19Have you remarried?

01:03:20No.

01:03:21Once is enough.

01:03:23Did you come here voluntarily?

01:03:25I did not.

01:03:25I was subpoenaed.

01:03:27Yes, I see.

01:03:29I have no re-examination.

01:03:30Very well.

01:03:31You may leave the witness box.

01:03:32May I go now, sir?

01:03:34No.

01:03:34I think you should remain.

01:03:36You go and sit down.

01:03:37Find a seat in court.

01:03:39That concludes

01:03:40the case for the defence,

01:03:41my lord.

01:03:43Mr Lloyd,

01:03:44members of the jury,

01:03:51abduction consists of taking a girl

01:03:54under 16

01:03:55from the possession

01:03:56of her parents or guardian.

01:03:58Now, usually force

01:03:59is connected with abduction,

01:04:01but the offence of abduction

01:04:02can be committed

01:04:03without the use of force.

01:04:05If a man persuades a girl

01:04:07to go away with him

01:04:08without the consent of her parents,

01:04:09then he is guilty of abduction.

01:04:12Now, you will have noted

01:04:13that there are two charges

01:04:14in this case.

01:04:16Firstly,

01:04:17that on the 9th of September 1973,

01:04:20the accused

01:04:20abducted

01:04:21Fiona Sumner

01:04:22by persuading her

01:04:24to go away with him

01:04:25without the consent

01:04:26of her mother.

01:04:27And that, secondly,

01:04:28that between the 2nd

01:04:29and the 9th of September 1973,

01:04:32the accused

01:04:32attempted

01:04:33to abduct

01:04:34Fiona Sumner.

01:04:35Now, as to the first charge,

01:04:37do you really believe

01:04:39that McDowell

01:04:40used

01:04:40no persuasion?

01:04:42McDowell

01:04:43had obviously

01:04:43formed a close relationship

01:04:44with Fiona.

01:04:45He enjoyed her company.

01:04:47He apparently

01:04:48wanted some company

01:04:49on this trip.

01:04:49He'd even asked

01:04:50his own daughter,

01:04:51with whom he had

01:04:51no special relationship,

01:04:53to go with him.

01:04:54Now, can you believe

01:04:54that he didn't suggest

01:04:56that Fiona

01:04:57should go with him,

01:04:58holding out for her

01:04:59a possible meeting

01:05:00with her father

01:05:01as bait?

01:05:02Now, McDowell

01:05:03has also told us

01:05:04that he believed

01:05:05Fiona's mother

01:05:06knew of the trip.

01:05:08I'm sure you'll find

01:05:08that incredible.

01:05:10A 14-year-old girl

01:05:11who should have been

01:05:12at school

01:05:12tells him

01:05:13that her mother

01:05:14agrees to her

01:05:15going away with him,

01:05:16a 40-year-old

01:05:17married man,

01:05:18and he believes that

01:05:19instantly,

01:05:20without any attempt

01:05:21to communicate

01:05:22with Mrs Sumner.

01:05:23It's pure nonsense.

01:05:25Now, the second charge

01:05:26is more subtle.

01:05:27The basis of it

01:05:28is that his real intention

01:05:30was to take Fiona

01:05:31not just to John O'Groats,

01:05:32but to the west coast

01:05:33of Scotland

01:05:33or elsewhere.

01:05:35Now, as to this charge,

01:05:36McDowell denies

01:05:37he attempted

01:05:38to persuade Fiona

01:05:39to go to the west coast

01:05:40of Scotland,

01:05:40but the fact remains

01:05:41he did go there.

01:05:43He had withdrawn

01:05:44£250 from his bank account,

01:05:47and he has admitted

01:05:49in this court

01:05:50that he planned

01:05:50not to return.

01:05:52So what was he going

01:05:53to do with Fiona?

01:05:54Abandon her

01:05:55500 miles from home?

01:05:58Now, members of the jury,

01:05:58you may feel tempted

01:06:00to feel sympathy

01:06:02for McDowell's attempt

01:06:03to once in his life

01:06:05do something adventurous,

01:06:06as he put it.

01:06:07And indeed,

01:06:08if it had only

01:06:09concerned his life,

01:06:11one could perhaps

01:06:12sympathise.

01:06:13But,

01:06:15Philip McDowell

01:06:16took a 14-year-old girl

01:06:18away from school,

01:06:19causing her mother

01:06:20immeasurable distress,

01:06:22causing the police

01:06:23to mount

01:06:23a massive search operation.

01:06:25he withdrew

01:06:26from his own family

01:06:28the only means

01:06:29of support they had,

01:06:30causing his wife

01:06:31to leave him

01:06:32and the family

01:06:32to split up.

01:06:33He lied

01:06:34about a meeting

01:06:35with his boss,

01:06:36Mr Gerard,

01:06:37causing Mr Gerard's

01:06:38honesty to be subjected

01:06:40to a gruelling

01:06:40cross-examination,

01:06:42and he repeatedly

01:06:43lied to the police,

01:06:45necessitating them

01:06:46to process film

01:06:47and analyse tapes

01:06:48to get at the truth.

01:06:51I put it to you

01:06:52that they are not

01:06:53the actions

01:06:54of an innocent man.

01:06:56I must ask you

01:06:57to find him guilty

01:06:57on both counts.

01:07:01My lord,

01:07:02members of the jury,

01:07:04this case

01:07:04is all about persuasion.

01:07:06Who persuaded who?

01:07:08Now, my client says

01:07:09that it was Fiona Sumner

01:07:11who did the persuading.

01:07:12Now, is that incredible,

01:07:13as my friend points out?

01:07:15She is 14,

01:07:17but she is remarkably

01:07:18self-possessed

01:07:19and, you might even think,

01:07:20experienced young lady,

01:07:21when you remember

01:07:22that there is medical evidence

01:07:23to show

01:07:24that before this journey

01:07:25occurred,

01:07:27she was no longer

01:07:28Virgo Intacta,

01:07:29as the prosecution

01:07:30has pointed out.

01:07:31Now, she had been brought up

01:07:33without a father.

01:07:34She believed him dead.

01:07:36She was curious about him,

01:07:37but her mother was reluctant

01:07:38to talk about him.

01:07:39And suddenly,

01:07:40she finds a clue

01:07:41that he is alive

01:07:42and in Scotland.

01:07:44She knows my client

01:07:45is thinking of doing

01:07:46a speed trial to Scotland,

01:07:47and so she seizes

01:07:50on the chance

01:07:50and canvases the idea

01:07:52that they might go together.

01:07:53Now, is that incredible?

01:07:56Is it incredible

01:07:57that, as he is reluctant,

01:07:59she should try

01:07:59to persuade him?

01:08:01On the contrary,

01:08:02it is obvious

01:08:03that that is what happened.

01:08:04It is exactly

01:08:05what my client

01:08:05told his own daughter,

01:08:07Alison,

01:08:08before ever going

01:08:08on the trip.

01:08:10Then it is said

01:08:11that he couldn't have believed

01:08:12that Mrs Sumner

01:08:13had given her a scent.

01:08:15Well, why not?

01:08:16He didn't know Mrs Sumner.

01:08:19Fiona, as I say,

01:08:20appeared to be

01:08:21self-possessed

01:08:22and self-directed.

01:08:23She came and went

01:08:23freely from his garage.

01:08:26How was he to know

01:08:26Mrs Sumner was the

01:08:27possessive,

01:08:28protective type?

01:08:30She might well have been

01:08:31a free and easy mother

01:08:32who let her child

01:08:33do just what she liked.

01:08:35Now, on the second count,

01:08:36it is said that my client,

01:08:38in John O'Groats,

01:08:39tried to persuade Fiona

01:08:40to go with him

01:08:41to the West Coast.

01:08:43Now, he denies that

01:08:44and his denial

01:08:45is corroborated

01:08:46by evidence

01:08:47of Archibald Sumner,

01:08:48the girl's father.

01:08:51It is said that

01:08:51my client has lied.

01:08:53Well, so he has.

01:08:54People who have

01:08:55lost their bearings,

01:08:56who are all at sea,

01:08:57sometimes do tell lies.

01:08:59But that doesn't mean

01:09:00to say that everything

01:09:00he said is a lie.

01:09:02Is it not just as likely

01:09:03that Fiona is lying

01:09:05in her distress

01:09:06and disappointment,

01:09:07blaming him

01:09:08for everything

01:09:09that's gone wrong?

01:09:09Remember my client's

01:09:12version of what

01:09:13she said

01:09:13when she was

01:09:13turned away

01:09:14from her father's door?

01:09:16She wished

01:09:17he'd never brought her there.

01:09:19She wished

01:09:19she'd stayed at home.

01:09:21It was all his fault.

01:09:24She'd never have known

01:09:24her father was alive

01:09:25if it wasn't for him.

01:09:28Now,

01:09:28if you remember

01:09:29those words

01:09:30and consider Fiona's evidence

01:09:31in the light of them,

01:09:33then, members of the jury,

01:09:34I think your verdict

01:09:34is plain.

01:09:35Not guilty

01:09:36on both counts.

01:09:37Thank you, Mr. Golding.

01:09:39Members of the jury,

01:09:40my task is to direct you

01:09:41as to the law,

01:09:43as to what constitutes

01:09:44this offence of abduction.

01:09:45It is for you to decide

01:09:46whether, on the evidence,

01:09:48the accused,

01:09:48Philip McDowell,

01:09:49did commit this offence.

01:09:50As Mr. Lloyd has pointed out,

01:09:52abduction can be committed

01:09:53without force.

01:09:54The essence of the offence

01:09:55is the removing

01:09:56of a girl under 16

01:09:57from the custody

01:09:57of her parent or guardian.

01:09:59In this case,

01:10:00Mrs. Sumner,

01:10:01who is the legal custodian

01:10:02of Fiona.

01:10:04The removal can be

01:10:05accomplished by force

01:10:06or by persuasion.

01:10:09Now,

01:10:09if a person persuades

01:10:10a girl under 16

01:10:11to leave

01:10:12the custody

01:10:13of her parent or guardian

01:10:14without their consent,

01:10:15that is abduction.

01:10:19Now,

01:10:19the question you have

01:10:20to decide is,

01:10:20did the accused,

01:10:21Philip McDowell,

01:10:22persuade Fiona

01:10:23to go with him

01:10:24to John O'Groats?

01:10:27If he did not,

01:10:28if she was determined

01:10:28to go,

01:10:29if she insisted

01:10:29on going with him

01:10:30and he merely acquiesced,

01:10:31then you need inquire

01:10:32no further

01:10:32into the first offence.

01:10:34But if he did

01:10:36persuade her to go,

01:10:37then you must find him guilty

01:10:38unless you accept

01:10:40that he believed

01:10:42that Mrs. Sumner

01:10:43consented to Fiona

01:10:44going with him.

01:10:45Now,

01:10:45his belief in her consent

01:10:47would be a defence

01:10:48even though

01:10:49we know,

01:10:50in fact,

01:10:51she did not consent.

01:10:53The second count

01:10:55is one of attempted

01:10:56abduction.

01:10:57In that,

01:10:58in John O'Groats,

01:11:00the accused

01:11:00tried to persuade Fiona

01:11:02to go on with him

01:11:03to the west coast

01:11:04of Scotland.

01:11:05Now,

01:11:05the accused

01:11:05does not pretend

01:11:06that Mrs. Sumner's

01:11:07supposed consent

01:11:08extended beyond

01:11:09the original trip

01:11:11to John O'Groats,

01:11:12but he does insist

01:11:13that he did not

01:11:14ask Fiona

01:11:15to go on with him

01:11:16to the west coast

01:11:17of Scotland.

01:11:18If he did,

01:11:19if you think

01:11:19that all that went

01:11:20before was part

01:11:21of some preconceived plan

01:11:23to get her away

01:11:23from her mother

01:11:24so that he could make

01:11:25this further suggestion,

01:11:26then you will find

01:11:29him guilty

01:11:29of attempted abduction.

01:11:31If you think

01:11:31there was no

01:11:32preconceived plan,

01:11:33then you will find

01:11:34him not guilty.

01:11:36So there you have it.

01:11:37On the one hand,

01:11:38it is said

01:11:39that the man

01:11:39was the persuader.

01:11:41On the other hand,

01:11:42that it was the gal.

01:11:43Now remember,

01:11:44you must be satisfied

01:11:45beyond all reasonable doubt

01:11:47that the accused,

01:11:49Philip McDowell,

01:11:50did what is alleged

01:11:52before you can find

01:11:53him guilty.

01:11:53Members of the jury,

01:11:55will you now please

01:11:56retire and consider

01:11:57your verdicts?

01:12:01Members of the jury,

01:12:02will your foreman

01:12:03please stand?

01:12:04Just answer this question,

01:12:05yes or no.

01:12:06Have you reached

01:12:07verdicts on which

01:12:08you are all agreed?

01:12:09Yes.

01:12:10On the first count

01:12:11of abduction

01:12:11on the 9th of September

01:12:121973 at Fulchester,

01:12:14do you find the accused

01:12:15guilty or not guilty?

01:12:17Not guilty.

01:12:18On the second count

01:12:20of attempted abduction

01:12:21between the 2nd

01:12:22and 9th of September

01:12:231973,

01:12:23do you find the accused

01:12:25guilty or not guilty?

01:12:27Not guilty.

01:12:29Very well, McDowell.

01:12:30You are free

01:12:30to leave the court.

01:12:31I hope you learn

01:12:32something from this trial.

01:12:33It's always sad

01:12:34to see a family break up.

01:12:35I hope you can do

01:12:36something to prevent it.

01:12:38Yes, my lord.

01:12:39All stand.

01:12:40next week, a chance for you

01:12:52to join another jury

01:12:53in assessing the facts

01:12:54when our cameras return

01:12:55to watch a leading case

01:12:56in the Crown Court.

01:12:57one second court.

01:12:59Thank you very much.

Crown Court - The Getaway (1974)

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