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Tamara Ecclestone's ex-boyfriend tried to blackmail her, court hears
Tamara Ecclestone's ex-boyfriend tried to blackmail her, court hears
(about 2 hours later)
A former boyfriend of the socialite and model Tamara Ecclestone tried to blackmail her for £200,000, a court has heard.
A former boyfriend of the model and socialite Tamara Ecclestone threatened to sell "intimate secrets" to the tabloid press if she did not pay him and an accomplice £200,000, a court has heard.
Derek Rose was in a relationship with the daughter of Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone when she was 17.
Derek Rose, 33, went out with Ecclestone, 28, when she was 17 and before he changed his name by deed poll from Jonathan Ketterman. They split up in August 2002.
Rose, 33, went out with Ms Ecclestone, now 28, in 2002 before he changed his name by deed poll from Jonathan Ketterman.
Rose and Jakir Uddin, a 20-year-old media studies student, are accused of trying to blackmail the daughter of the Formula One chief, Bernie Ecclestone, after she had appeared in Billion Dollar Girl, a reality television programme exploring her life as a rich youngster.
Southwark crown court heard that Rose and media studies student Jakir Uddin, 20, plotted together to blackmail Ms Ecclestone and drafted an email together, which they sent to her manager Dana Malmstrom.
Southwark crown court heard that the pair sent an email to Ecclestone's manager, Dana Malmstrom, on 16 November 2011.
The email was sent on 16 November 2011 after Ms Ecclestone had starred in Billion Dollar Girl, a reality television programme exploring her life as a rich youngster, and after she had generated publicity in charity campaigns.
In it, Uddin, posing as Rose' official representative, wrote: "While my client has not spoken about Tamara in 10 years and has let her live her life we have been approached by a major tabloid with a life-changing offer of £200,000 to go ahead with the story and disclose all … My client has asked me to contact you to explain what he is going through and what the press are intending to do.
The jury of seven men and five women was told Uddin sent the email purporting to be Rose's official representative.
William Boyce QC said: "The defendants were in this together."
Boyce said there were several drafts of the email constructed by the duo to "choose the right words to pressure and intimidate Ms Ecclestone into paying £200,000".
The email was written at 1.03am and said Rose, Ms Ecclestone's former fiance, had been asked by television shows, radio programmes and a major tabloid to talk about their old relationship.
The email said: "While my client has not spoken about Tamara in 10 years and has let her live her life we have been approached by a major tabloid with a life changing offer of £200,000 to go ahead with the story and disclose all …
"My client has asked me to contact you to explain what he is going through and what the press are intending to do.
"My client is a quiet family man and he doesn't need the headache of this story coming out because it would be embarrassing for both our clients."
"My client is a quiet family man and he doesn't need the headache of this story coming out because it would be embarrassing for both our clients."
The barrister said the email went on with "pernicious" implications about damage to Ms Ecclestone's reputation.
William Boyce QC, prosecuting, said the email contained "pernicious" implications about damage to Ms Ecclestone's reputation.
Part of the email was written in bold but not read out in court.
Part of the email – which was written in bold but not read out in court – referred to an "incident".
It referred to an "incident".
The thrust of it was "you don't really want that in the press whether it's true or not", said Boyce.
The tone of it was "you don't really want that in the press whether it's true or not", said Boyce.
Although the defendants allegedly wrote they would be happy to discuss "a non-release fee" and sign a confidentiality contract, they also gave a deadline of the following Friday when they claimed they had to answer the tabloid's offer, he said.
The defendants allegedly wrote they would be happy to discuss "a non-release fee" and sign a confidentiality contract.
Rose, of Camden, London, and Uddin, of Birmingham, both deny blackmail.
But they also gave a deadline of the following Friday when they claimed they had to answer the tabloid's offer.
The case continues.
Rose, from Camden, London, and Uddin, from Birmingham, both deny blackmail.
Boyce said Rose had made £10,000 from selling his story to the Daily Mail in 2002.
An email he sent to Ms Ecclestone in August of the year after they broke up was given to the jury.
Boyce did not read the three pages aloud but described the content as "extraordinarily offensive".
The email, which police retrieved from Rose's computer, "contained all sorts of allegations", Boyce said.
"You may think he professed to love her," said the QC.
"In fact he loathed and despised her."
Rose was the "driving force" behind the scheme and planned to keep £150,000 if they were successful, said Mr Boyce.
