Six appeal against convictions linked to Mazher Mahmood's stories
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Version 0 of 1. Six people caught in sting operations by the former News of the World investigations editor, Mazher Mahmood, are seeking leave to appeal against convictions resulting from stories about them in the newspaper. A lawyer acting for the six, Siobhain Egan, argues in the preliminary grounds for appeal that there are “serious concerns” over the safety of their convictions. According to the papers sent to the court of appeal the “common thread” to all six cases concerns Mahmood’s integrity as a witness. There are also references to his methodology and his concealment of alleged sources under journalistic privilege. The appeals are the direct result of statements made by a judge when he halted the trial of singer Tulisa Contostavlos in July 2014. Judge Alistair McCreath said there were “strong grounds for believing” Mahmood had “lied” on oath. Two of the six are known to be actor John Alford and former boxer Herbie Hide. Alford was convicted in 1999 of supplying drugs to Mahmood and sentenced to nine months in prison (eventually serving six weeks). Hide was sentenced to 22 months in prison in 2013 after pleading guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine to Mahmood, by then working for the Sun on Sunday. His sentence was cut on appeal to 18 months. A seventh person, who was sentenced to 18 years over a firearms offence in 1988, may also launch an appeal. These actions follow the sending by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) of “disclosure packs” to 25 people who either pleaded guilty or were convicted as a result of evidence provided by Mahmood (aka the Fake Sheikh). Both the CPS and the Criminal Cases Review Commission have received the grounds for appeal by the six. Meanwhile, the CPS is still trying to make up its mind whether to prosecute Mahmood for perjury following an investigation by the Metropolitan police. The CPS received the police file on 6 June. A CPS spokeswoman said last month that the file was being “reviewed in accordance with the code for crown prosecutors”. The service must decide if there is enough reliable and credible evidence to warrant charging him and whether there is a “realistic prospect of conviction”. One other key factor is whether a prosecution would be in the public interest. Mahmood has been under suspension by the Sun on Sunday’s publisher, News UK, since the collapse of the Constostavlos trial. It announced at the time that it was holding an internal investigation. In subsequent weeks, the CPS abandoned three cases in which Mahmood was due to have been the key witness on the understanding that his evidence could no longer be relied on to guarantee a conviction. Full disclosure: I have provided a witness statement on behalf of the six. |