"Nonsense, A Complete Nonsense" Says Businessman Accused Of Royal Thames Yacht Club Grope

A power boating businessman, accused of groping a woman between the legs outside the Royal Thames Yacht Club, told the jury the allegation was “a nonsense, a complete nonsense,” yesterday

Peter Bonham Christie, 39, denies one count of sexually assaulting the 27 year-old woman in the early hours when she was having a smoke outside the Knightsbridge club on November 30, 2018.

Isleworth Crown Court heard the woman - a fellow club-member - was left shaking and in tears after the sudden early hours grope outside the 245 year-old exclusive private members club.

Bonham Christie, of Gosport Street, Lymington, Hampshire, who runs a company that specialises in the transportation of classic and luxury cars, said he was angry with the woman’s companion, 60 year-old Andrew Sutherland.

Bonham Christie told the court: “I was f***ed off. Anger got the better of me.”

The former University of Portsmouth student, an old boy of £40,000 a-year Millfield School, said Mr Sutherland had described him as a cocaine-user to a female friend and business client.

He told her: “Nice guy, nice guy, shame he takes too much cocaine.”

Bonham Christie told the court he did not touch the complainant, who was standing next to Mr Sutherland when he angrily approached him outside the club.

“I know that I didn’t do it. She’s convinced somethings happened, I didn’t do it, that’s it.

“It’s a nonsense, a complete nonsense. The whole thing is ridiculous.

“All they wanted was for me to be thrown out of the Royal Thames Yacht Club. They got trapped in their lie. What they have done is wrong.”

During the evening Bonham Christie consumed at least two glasses of champagne, two vodka and tonics and a glass of wine and said Mr Sutherland was “hitting” on his female friend.

“He is someone I know and prefer to keep at arm’s length. He’s not a particularly nice person, he’s a drunken idiot.”

Bonham Christie said the complainant clearly took Mr Sutherland’s side in their dispute. “She was looking after him, she took him away from me.

“I was fuming with what he said, but I got nowhere. He had just said to one of my senior clients a lie and I grabbed him and shook him.

“I said: ‘Andrew, what the f*** did you do that for? Why did you say that?’ That was it.”

Earlier Bonham Christie described himself to the jury: “I am a high achiever. I like to have fun, I work very hard.

“I like to win, I like to have goals and achieve them and I have, quite a lot.”

Bath-born Bonham Christie, a self-styled entrepreneur, sold his first office water cooler company for over £1m, utilising water sourced on his family’s Dorset property.

Bonham Christie represented GB in sailing and skiing, aged 13 years-old and once received an award from the Royal Yachting Association for breaking the offshore powerboat world speed record.

Trial continues…………