Ex-French Rugby Player's Drink-Drive Assaults

Wimbledon Magistrates' Court

Former French Rugby Union player Florent Pierre Rossigneux was sentenced yesterday for a violent incident when he was caught riding his three-wheel scooter at three times the drinks limit.

The six foot two 51 year-old ex-Wasps and Bedford Blues flanker appeared at Wimbledon Magistrates Court, where he was ordered to complete an alcohol dependency programme.

Now a company director Clichy-born Rossigneux, of Eve Road, Isleworth was also banned from driving for the next two years.

He pleaded guilty to riding his grey Piaggio scooter in Little Green, Richmond on October 22, last year with 106 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath.

The legal limit is 35.

Now the coach of Actonians RFC, Rossigneux also pleaded guilty to assaulting female Saron Awet and Matthew Lea, causing him actual bodily harm at the same time and place.

The court heard Rossigneux’s assault on the female was limited to briefly holding her arm.

He was sentenced to a two-year Community Order, which includes a 12-day alcohol treatment requirement under the direction of the Integrated Hounslow Engagement Access and Recovery Services.

Rossigneux must also comply with a 20-day rehabilitation activity requirement and complete 100 hours community service.

The court ordered him to pay £100 compensation, a £95 victim surcharge and £85 costs.

Yacht Man Sentenced For Double Domestic Assault

An ex-professional diver, who lives on a yacht moored in Falmouth, received a suspended prison sentence today for the double domestic assault of a woman.

Peter Cooper, 48, of Mylor Yacht Harbour fought the charges, but was convicted.

He was found guilty of assaulting Imogen Gardiner on June 15 and 16 at a flat in Kestrel Avenue, Herne Hill, south London.

At Croydon Magistrates' Court Cooper was sentenced to twenty-four weeks imprisonment, suspended for twenty-four months.

The court ruled the reason for a custodial sentence was due to the seriousness of the offences, which were described as “sustained” and in a domestic context.

Cooper was also made subject to a five-year restraining order, prohibiting him from contacting Imogen Gardiner and entering Kestrel Avenue.

He was also ordered to pay £500 costs and a £128 victim surcharge. 

Private Hospital Phlebotomist Denies Sexually Assaulting Patient

A private hospital phlebotomist cupped a recovering female patient’s face in his hands and planted a kiss because they shared the same birthday, a court heard today.

Osama Dessoukli Ali, 46, was employed at The London Clinic near Harley Street and only missed kissing the woman full on the lips when she ducked her head at the last second, the jury were told.

Dessoukli Ali, of Carterhatch Lane Enfield has pleaded not guilty to one count of sexually assaulting the lone woman in her private room on November 19, 2019.

Southwark Crown Court heard she stayed at the hospital overnight after partial knee replacement surgery the day before and Dessoukli Ali does not deny kissing her on the forehead, insisting he had no sexual motive.

During an internal hospital investigation Dessoukli Ali explained that sharing the same birthday with somebody was very significant in his culture, the jury were told.

However, the jury were told he flattered the patient, telling her she looked “young and beautiful” and “lovely” and requested to see her again before she was discharged.

Dessoukli Ali denies flattering the woman and making a fuss about sharing the same birthday.

“I had a twenty-four hour guard outside my room because I was so scared he would come back and a photograph of him was given to security staff to prevent him coming back,” the patient told the trial.

Speaking from behind a screen the married woman said Dessoukli Ali entered her room at 9am to take a blood sample. “He said: ‘Oh my God we have the same birthday. That’s really special.’

“He seemed to be happy and excited we had the same birthday then put his hands on my face and brought my face forward to kiss me.

“I thought: ‘This is not right,’ and put my head down. 

“He kissed the top of my head, my forehead because I dipped my head, otherwise it would be on my face, my lips.

“It frightened the life out of me. He kept saying it was really special we shared the same birthday.

“It was really horrible, I knew it was not right and he kissed me again and I dipped my head down.

“He was saying: ‘You’re lovely,’ and said I looked young and I looked beautiful.”

Dessoukli Ali says he placed one hand on the woman’s temple and gave her a peck to the forehead to reassure her because she was anxious about the surgery.

“I was getting that panicked feeling and I was reaching for my buzzer,” she told the court. “I just wanted him to get out of the room.

“He asked: ‘Can I see you tomorrow?’ and I said definitely not because my husband was coming  and he asked if he could come and see me when my husband was not there.

“He seemed to be disappointed and just left.”

Prosecutor told the jury at the start of the trial the hospital interviewed Dessoukli Ali after the complaint. “He told them he noticed she had the same birthday and in his culture that was something very special and that he kissed her.

“He was obviously remorseful and was suspended by the hospital, with the complaint referred to the police.”

Dessoukli Ali was questioned by the police a month later and told them: “I just kissed her, there was no sexual reason. I tried to care about her because she was scared.

“I touched her head and told her she would be okay and kissed her. I did not try and kiss her anywhere else.

“She was scared and I tried to calm her down.”

The prosecutor told the jurors: “You have to be sure the touching was sexual. That is very much the dispute in this case.

“Mr Dessoukli Ali does not disagree there was touching, but the fact he was telling her she was young and beautiful and that kind of thing makes it sexual.”

Trial continues……………… 

NOT GUILTY: Ex-RAF Officer And Dealer Cleared Over 'Lord Dowding' Nameplate Mystery

A retired RAF officer has been cleared by a jury of stealing a valuable ‘Battle of Britain’ steam train nameplate, along with the dealer who was accused of dishonestly receiving it. 

Former Squadron Leader Philip John Morley Angus, 66, always maintained he simply took home the ‘Lord Dowding’ nameplate from RAF Bently Priory to restore it and had no dishonest intent.

He sold it for £12,000 to David Ewart Jones, 62, boss of Great Central Railwayana, who has also maintained his innocence, insisting he did not know it was missing from the RAF base. 

At Harrow Crown Court the jury took only twenty minutes to unanimously find Angus, of Morecambe Lodge, Archenfield Road, Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire not guilty of one count of stealing the nameplate between January 1, 1999 and January 1, 2000.

They also unanimously acquitted Jones, of 14 School Street, Woodford Halse, Daventry, Northamptonshire of one count of dishonestly receiving stolen goods between May 24, 2010 and December 31, 2011.

Not Guilty: Philip Angus

Jones was excused from sitting in the dock throughout the trial due to his Tourette’s syndrome and was allowed to follow proceedings remotely from home.

He claimed to be suffering high blood pressure and said he was “distressed and anxious” and unable to leave his house.

However, the trial judge insisted he attend for short period during the jury swearing-in so those who were to try him could see him before the trial was opened by the prosecution.

Now retired, Angus was President of the Officers’ Mess Committee when he took the nameplate from the secure Fine Arts Store over twenty years ago, selling it to Jones in 2011.

His lawyer, Jonathan Reuben told the jurors: “When Philip Angus found the nameplate in 1999 he looked to see if there was a label to identify ownership.

“In his view the plate had been lying in a storeroom for a long time, with no specific owner and no one wanting it.

“It was left to rot, he thought it had been abandoned. He wanted to restore it.” 

Jones bought it and later sold it to a collector, along with a matching metal crest in 2013 for £65,000, but when that buyer ran into financial difficulties it ended up in a November, 2017 Tennants auction and was identified to the police.

During the trial, which Jones watched from his home via videolink due to health problems, he told the jury the nameplate “looked a bit of a mess”.

The nameplate was a tribute to WW2 military leader Air Chief Marshal Hugh Dowding and two of them adorned either side of one of 44 official 1947 ‘Battle of Britain’ Class steam locomotives.

Lord Dowding’s step-son David Whiting loaned the nameplate and accompanying crest to RAF Bentley Prior in 1990 for their Battle of Britain 50th anniversary exhibition.

Cleared: David Jones

Bently Priory, in Stanmore, north London was the HQ of Fighter Command during the successful defeat of Germany’s Luftwaffe in 1940.

A copy was made of the nameplate and it was eventually secured to the wall outside the officers’ mess, with the original held in a secure vault in the Fine Arts Store.

Jones maintained during the trial he did not associate the nameplate he bought from Angus with the missing one loaned by Lord Dowding’s step-son.

“It was crystal clear from the condition of it that it was not the same plate, because I knew David Whiting’s plate was fully painted up, restored and polished and this one was in very poor condition.”

Prosecutor Mr James Keeley told the jury at the start of the week-long trial that Mr. Whiting requested the return of his family heirlooms in 2006.

“The crest was returned, but the nameplate could not be found and it was reported stolen and the RAF conducted their own investigation, without identifying a suspect or the location of the nameplate.”

However, the nameplate was identified at the auction and police found the last owner was a railway memorabilia collector, who had bought it from Jones.

Jones had assured the customer of the item’s provenance, reeling off a long list of seemingly genuine previous owners in Brighton, Devon and north London.

“He told the customer it had taken him several years to reunite the nameplate and the crest,” the prosecutor told the court.

“The customer was interested, but was concerned because he was aware that there had been a Lord Dowding nameplate stolen from Bently Priory.

“Mr Jones went through a list of people who had owned the nameplate, the last being a north London collector, who had screwed it to the side of his garage.

“The name of the first private owner of the nameplate was still visible, painted on the inside, said Mr Jones, who said there were no worries the nameplate was legitimate with a chain of owners.”

When police visited Jones he revealed he had bought it from Angus, who was questioned by officers at Charing Cross Police Station on May 15, 2018.

“He said in 1999 he served at Bently Priory as the President of Officers’ Mess Committee and agreed to dispose of some old memorabilia.

“He found the Lord Dowding in a storeroom and asked a senior officer if he could take the nameplate home to restore it.

“It was kept in a store area, he said, but due to work pressures and medical issues he did not complete the restoration and retired in 2000.

“He told the police he had a clear-out of his garage in 2011 and found the nameplate, which he said no-one wanted and had been lying around in an RAF storeroom for a long time.

“The prosecution say you can be sure he stole the nameplate and Mr. Jones bought it and knew he was dealing in stolen goods,” Mr. Keeley told the jury.

Coincidentally, Jones was approached in 2010 by the nameplate’s owner Mr. Whiting for a valuation as he sought compensation from the RAF for losing the heirloom.

“We know that in 2011 Mr. Jones buys it from Mr. Angus and in 2013 sells it, knowing it is the same nameplate he gave a valuation for as it was either lost or stolen.

“When he was interviewed by the police he said he did not inform Mr. Whiting about it because he did not think he would be interested anymore.

“He also denied giving a verbal chain of previous owners of the nameplate to the customer who purchased it.”

Guilty: Dancefloor Groper Who Targeted Same Woman Twice

A dance floor predator, caught on a City nightclub’s CCTV groping an IT account director between her legs for the second time, has been convicted.

The 31 year-old woman was entertaining clients at her company’s Christmas party in the heart of the Square Mile, even shrugging off the first grope to avoid ruining the evening.

Algerian kitchen porter Nabil Zerdi, 51, was recorded loitering around the dance floor of Cornhill venue Forge and jurors watched CCTV of him targeting the victim and sneaking up on her from behind.

At Inner London Crown Court Zerdi, of Jersey Road, Isleworth was unanimously found guilty of two counts of sexual assault on the evening of December 19 and early hours of December 20, 2019.

Recorder James Dawson ordered a pre-sentence report and Zerdi will return on September 9.

Prosecutor Richard Job told the jury: “The complainant went to a bar nightclub, The Forge, in the City of London. She was hosting a works do.

“At 9pm she was walking from the dance floor to the bar when a man reached across and deliberately placed his hand between her legs.

“She was still at then club at 1am and was on the dance floor with colleagues when the same man came up behind her and placed his hand around her hip and deliberately put his hand between her legs, touching her through her dress.

“She confronted the man and attempted to grab his arm and speak to him, but he waved her away and walked off.

“She spoke to club staff, who called the police and the man was detained until officers attended.

“The man who touched her on both occasions was this defendant, Mr Zerdi and he was arrested on suspicion of assault.

“When he was questioned the defendant denied the first incident, but said the second incident was just his attempt to squeeze past and there was no sexual intention.”

The prosecutor told the jury they would view CCTV footage of the second incident.

“You will see her berating Mr Zerdi and him waving away her complaints.

Giving evidence from behind a screen the victim told the jury: “I got brushed past by some man who decided to touch me where he should not have.

“He reached under and cupped his hand and grabbed me.

“He stared at me and I stared at him and pointed at him and said: ’No’ and he casually walked off.”

Because she was entertaining important company clients the woman kept her composure and did not report the man.

“I had a duty to my clients to try and continue the night,” she told the court, but said the same man repeated his behaviour in the early hours.

The jury were shown CCTV of the second incident and the woman, wearing a sequinned dress, was approached by Zerdi, who had been loitering around the edge of the crowded dance floor.

“I felt the same hand again, more forceful, more pressured and there he was again,” she explained.

“I felt someone come towards me and cup me again over my dress. The same guy who did it the first time was standing there.

“I am one hundred per cent sure it was the same man.

“The look that he gave me, I’ll never forget and I did not want him to get away with it again or worse, do it to someone else.

“I grabbed his arm and said: ‘Don’t touch me like that again,’ and I went for help.”

She denied her judgement was effected by alcohol.

“Yes, I had some drinks, but I had high-profile clients so I could not be drunk. I was aware of my surroundings.”

Murderer's Girlfriend Cleared Of Helping Him Avoid Justice

Not Guilty: Megan Armstrong-Challinor

The graduate daughter of a retired academic, accused of shielding her bad-boy murderer boyfriend from police after he stabbed his cousin to death in broad daylight, has been cleared.

Former Manchester Metropolitan University student Megan Armstrong-Challinor, 28, moved Jerome Bailey, 39, into her parents’ £800,000 home while they were holidaying in Spain.

A Croydon Crown Court jury found her not guilty of one count of perverting the course of justice.

Armstrong-Challinor has fought the case over two trials, consistently protesting her innocence of knowing what her boyfriend had done. 

The trial heard Bailey used his girlfriend’s mother’s Oyster card to travel to the murder scene to stab Tesfa Campell, 40, in Battersea on July 3, last year.

He was convicted on January 21, last year of murdering Mr Campbell in Latchmere Road, Battersea on July 3, 2019 and is in custody awaiting sentence.

The prosecution maintained Armstrong-Challinor, of Victor Road, Teddington, knew Bailey had stabbed his cousin to death and assisted him in evading police capture.

There was even evidence that Armstrong-Challinor, a graduate in film and global media, made internet searches if ‘conjugal visits’ were allowed to prisoners in the UK.

Parents: Mary Armstrong-Challinor & Bruce Armstrong

Officers raided her parents’ home in Victor Road, Teddington at 8.15am on July 7, 2019 and the defendant’s father Bruce Armstrong, 62, told the jury the first he knew about it was: “When they put the door in.”

Mr Armstrong, the retired Dean of Students at Kingston University and his wife Mary saw police arrest their daughter and Bailey and then search their home and garden.

He told the court the couple had lived in a variety of addresses during their three-year relationship, with Armstrong-Challinor holding down a variety of jobs to support the pair.

“It was fairly obvious he was not contributing his fair share,” said Mr Armstrong of Bailey. “That was my suspicion.”

He told the jury his daughter said she needed to borrow the family car for a hospital emergency involving Bailey hours after the murder.

Now the director of an educational business, Mr Armstrong added: “I said if he’s being discharged from hospital he can make his own way back.

“He was a grown man and I felt she ran after him too much.”

Cleared: Armstrong-Challinor

His daughter had moved back into the family home after an ankle operation and an “incident” forcing her to leave her previous address, but on returning from Spain her parents found Bailey was also there.

Confirming he was not happy about it Mr Armstrong said: “They were looking for somewhere else to live and were due to leave in a week.”

The prosecution say Bailey deliberately changed his appearance after the murder, ridding himself of his distinctive long locks.

The defendant’s mother Mary Armstrong-Challinor told the court: “It was very hot in July and I said to him it must be hot if you had your head shaved.”

She also offered him medical advice after the supposed 1.00am hospital dash. “I suggested he look after himself better and he said he had stomach problems, nothing more than that.” 

The Oyster card used by the murder suspect was registered to Mrs Armstrong-Challinor at the Teddington address. 

Police attended four days after the murder where they found Bailey and arrested him, along with Armstrong-Challinor at the family home.

In the Summer house in the back garden were two yellow plastic string bags of the same kind taken from Mr Campbell by his killer.

Both were within another bag that contained a quantity of cannabis and items related to the use of cannabis.

The Oyster card that was registered to Mrs Armstrong-Challinor and used to travel from Teddington to Clapham Junction was in one of the yellow bags.

Government Diplomat Walks Free

A British diplomat and former Ambassador has today been cleared of a domestic violence charge after his estranged wife refused to give evidence against him.

Christopher Yvon, 51, is the UK’s Permanent Representative to the Council of Europe and was due to stand trial, accused of assaulting Aneta Yvon at the north London marital home.

She called police to the address in Coleridge Road, Hornsey two hours after the alleged incident when Yvon fell asleep in bed next to her.

He has always denied the charge and was found not guilty when the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) offered no evidence against him at Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court.

Yvon was Her Majesty’s Ambassador to Macedonia between 2010 and 2014 and the Charge d’Affaires at the British Embassy in Slovenia between 2014 and 2015.

Police were called to the two-bedroom £700,000 flat on September 17, last year and the CPS decided not to proceed with six minutes of evidence from the officers’ body-worn cameras and Mrs Yvon’s 999 call.

They were persuaded by a solicitor’s letter from lawyer’s acting for Mrs Yvon, who feared the financial implications for the family if her husband’s diplomatic career was destroyed.

Specific details of the assault were not aired.

Yvon joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1989 and has completed diplomatic postings in Prague; Bangkok; Riyadh and Mauritius.

An expert in the fields of human rights; war crimes policy and UN sanctions Yvon was also Deputy Head of the International Organisations Department at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

There his responsibilities included UK policy regarding the United Nations; Organisation for Security and Co-Operation in Europe; the Council of Europe and the Commonwealth.

Previously the CPS rejected an application from Yvon’s lawyers to drop the case on the grounds it was “not in the public interest.”

He has left the marital home and is living in Popsal Lane, Wingham, Kent.

There have been Family Court proceedings and Yvon is subject to a non-molestation order.

Mrs Yvon complained the continued prosecution was effecting the health of both her and and the couple’s 10 year-old daughter.

Prosecutor Vijay Khuttan told the court: “In relation to the complainant there was a desire that she be summonsed to attend the trial and give evidence, but she has failed to attend on that summons.

“The police have carried out a welfare check and there does not appear to be anything untoward. It does not appear that she is in distress.

“It clearly is not in the public interest to drag her in handcuffs from north London to the court.

“There is a letter from the complainant’s solicitors and she says she does not want to attend.

“There are detailed reasons why she does not want to come to court. They are legitimate and compelling reasons and she says she has moved on.

“This is a low-level offence and he is a man of good character and proceedings would effect his career and have an effect on the family finances.

“We believe the risk is now being managed and it is not in the public interest to proceed and I am going to offer no evidence.” 

Yvon continues to be subject to a Family Court non-molestation order that was made on January 8 until October, this year.

His lawyer Ellis Sareen told the court: “I think Mr. Khuttan took a look at the material and made, from my client’s position, the right decision.

“He is not legally-aided and I ask for costs.”

The court awarded Yvon his private defence costs.

Double Lives Of Benefits Cheating Nigerian Couple

Jumoke Brown & Anthony Shodunke

A Nigerian couple stole the identities of dead babies as they successfully battled to remain in the UK while defrauding their local council’s hardship fund, a court heard today.

While living double lives and holding down good jobs illegal overstayers Jumoke Brown, 36, and Anthony Shodunke, 51, claimed they were homeless and penniless during the £17,737 fraud.

When their home was raided a blue BMW was parked on the front drive and twenty boxes of new shoes found in Brown’s bedroom, including a £715 pair of Gucci men’s leather loafers.

The previous Christmas a council social worker had delivered a luxury festive hamper to the family-of-five.

However, the pair had told Bexley Council they had no income, bank accounts or assets and survived thanks to the charity of friends, relatives and their local church.

In reality, mother-of-three Brown was a company director with a £70,000 a year turnover and her husband Shodunke had a £27,000-a year job.

They created false identities to obtain employment and open bank accounts, using the details of UK-national babies who died in the 1970’s.

“This is a sophisticated fraud and they used the identities of dead children,” announced Bexley magistrate Jonathon Patterson. “The matter will be sent to the Crown Court, it is too serious for this court.”

The couple were not legally allowed to work or claim benefits while applying for UK residency, but local councils have a legal requirement to financially assist families with children.

Both Brown and Shodunke have now been granted leave to remain in the UK and the entire family are living in a three-bedroom house in Caldy Road, Belvedere, Kent.

Brown pleaded guilty to four counts of fraud by false representation between June 5, 2019 and January 31, last year and Shodunke two counts of fraud by false representation on July 4, 2019 and January 1, last year.

They lied in their applications for accommodation and living expenses that they were homeless, having been evicted from a property in Cherbury Close, Thamesmead and had no income or capital.

They lied again, claiming the entire family had lived rent-free in one room, but in reality they had rented the entire four-bedroom, two bathroom Thamesmead house, using their false identities.

Prosecutor Wing-Yan Chan told the court: “Brown presented herself to Bexley Council as homeless and destitute and explained she was a single-mum with children aged eight, eleven and twelve years-old.

“She said she had been in the UK since 1996 and there is no record of any lawful entry, stating she had lived rent-free with friends since 2013 and had no income, assets, vehicle, bank account or assistance from her partner.”

The family were placed in free council accommodation and given £768 per month in council taxpayers’ money to live on. 

Their three children would also give them housing points, potentially jumping the council-housing queue over people who have lived in the UK for generations.

The council became suspicious when Brown claimed she could not remember the name of the friend who put her up in the spare room of her Thamesmead home.

In reality, there was no friend, the property having been rented by both defendants in the false identities of the deceased children, Janet Brown and James Brown.

An investigation revealed she had shown the letting-agent a £24,000-year wage slip and had put a £3,450 deposit down on the BMW, all in the name of Janet Brown.

She also made regular cash payments into her company bank account, which had received funds of £54,000 and where she was listed as a ‘Business Analyst.’

“Brown used her company bank account like a personal account, paying her Sky bill, buying clothing, Ted Baker shoes and a trip to WinterWonderland,” said the prosecutor.

During the police raid Brown claimed the BMW was her cousin’s and investigators also found her storage locker, containing twelve years of incriminating financial records and income history.

“She also denied that the shoes were hers and that she had been spending Bexley money on shoes,” added Ms Chan.

Shodunke was also a registered company director, running ‘Brown Consultancy Ltd.’ and investigators found multiple statements from various banks.

Once he obtained legal residence in the UK he immediately began claiming Universal Credit.

“They deliberately misled Bexley Council about their circumstances and used false identities to conceal their true identities,” said Ms Chan.

Brown’s lawyer told the court she was of good character, having never been in trouble during twenty-five years in the UK and Shodunke was also described as of good character.

The couple were both bailed to be sentenced at Woolwich Crown Court on a date to be fixed.

Company Manager Says She Was Groped On Christmas Party Dance Floor

An IT manager, hosting her company’s Christmas party at a City club, was twice grabbed between the legs by the same stranger, she told a jury today.

The 31 year-old Account Director was entertaining clients at Forge, in the heart of the Square Mile, and after shrugging off the first grope was grabbed again hours later on the crowded dance floor, the court heard.

Algerian Nabil Zerdi, 51, of Jersey Road, Isleworth has pleaded not guilty to two counts of sexually assaulting the woman at the Cornhill venue on December 19 and 20, 2019.

“I got brushed past by some man who decided to touch me where he should not have,” she told Inner London Crown Court.

“He reached under and cupped his hand and grabbed me.

“He stared at me and I stared at him and pointed at him and said: ’No’ and he casually walked off.”

Because she was entertaining important company clients the woman kept her composure and did not report the man.

“I had a duty to my clients to try and continue the night,” she told the court, but said the same man repeated his behaviour in the early hours.

The jury were shown CCTV of the second incident and the woman, wearing a sequinned dress, was approached by Zerdi, who had been loitering around the edge of the dance floor.

“I felt the same hand again, more forceful, more pressured and there he was again,” she explained from behind a screen.

“I felt someone come towards me and cup me again over my dress. The same guy who did it the first time was standing there.

“I am one hundred per cent sure it was the same man.

“The look that he gave me, I’ll never forget and I did not want him to get away with it again or worse, do it to someone else.

“I grabbed his arm and said: ‘Don’t touch me like that again,’ and I went for help.”

Prosecutor Richard Job told the jury the complainant spoke to staff after the second incident and Zerdi was detained until the police arrived.

“When he was questioned the defendant denied the first incident, but said the second incident was just his attempt to squeeze past and there was no sexual intention.”

The trial continues…………. 

Riddle Of Missing Battle Of Britain Locomotive Nameplate: Ex-RAF Officer And Dealer In Dock

Philip Angus

An RAF officer stole a valuable commemorative Battle of Britain steam train nameplate and sold it to a crooked railway memorabilia dealer for £12,000, a court heard today.

Squadron Leader Philip John Morley Angus, 66, took the metal ‘Lord Dowding’ nameplate from the secure Fine Arts Store at RAF Bently Priory, Harrow Crown Court was told.

It was sold years later to expert David Ewart Jones, 62, boss of Great Central Railwayana and identified when it came up for auction.

Angus, of Morecambe Lodge, Archenfield Road, Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire has pleaded not guilty to one count of stealing the nameplate between January 1, 1999 and January 1, 2000.

Jones, of 14 School Street, Woodford Halse, Daventry, Northamptonshire, has pleaded not guilty to one count of dishonestly receiving stolen goods between May 24, 2010 and December 31, 2011.

Now retired, Angus was President of the Officers’ Mess Committee when he admits taking the nameplate home for restoration over twenty years ago, but sold it to Jones in 2011.

Jones sold it to a collector, along with a matching metal crest in 2013 for £65,000, but when that buyer ran into financial difficulties it ended up in a November, 2017 Tennants auction and was identified to the police.

The nameplate was a tribute to WW2 military leader Air Chief Marshal Hugh Dowding and two of them adorned either side of one of 44 official 1947 ‘Battle of Britain’ Class steam locomotives.

Lord Dowding’s step-son David Whiting loaned the nameplate and accompanying crest to RAF Bentley Prior in 1990 for their Battle of Britain 50th anniversary exhibition.

Bently Priory, in Stanmore, north London was the HQ of Fighter Command during the successful defeat of Germany’s Luftwaffe in 1940.

A copy was made of the nameplate and it was eventually secured to the wall outside the officers’ mess, with the original held in a secure vault in the Fine Arts Store.

Prosecutor Mr James Keeley told the jury Mr. Whiting requested the return of his family heirlooms in 2006.

“The crest was returned, but the nameplate could not be found and it was reported stolen and the RAF conducted their own investigation, without identifying a suspect or the location of the nameplate.”

However, the nameplate was identified at the auction and police found the last owner was a railway memorabilia collector, who had bought it from Jones.

David Jones

Jones had assured the customer of the item’s provenance, reeling off a long list of seemingly genuine previous owners in Brighton, Devon and north London.

“He told the customer it had taken him several years to reunite the nameplate and the crest,” the prosecutor told the court.

“The customer was interested, but was concerned because he was aware that there had been a Lord Dowding nameplate stolen from Bently Priory.

“Mr Jones went through a list of people who had owned the nameplate, the last being a north London collector, who had screwed it to the side of his garage.

“The name of the first private owner of the nameplate was still visible, painted on the inside, said Mr Jones, who said there were no worries the nameplate was legitimate with a chain of owners.”

When police visited Jones he revealed he had bought it from Angus, who was questioned by officers at Charing Cross Police Station on May 15, 2018.

“He said in 1999 he served at Bently Priory as the President of Officers’ Mess Committee and agreed to dispose of some old memorabilia.

“He found the Lord Dowding in a storeroom and asked a senior officer if he could take the nameplate home to restore it.

“It was kept in a store area, he said, but due to work pressures and medical issues he did not complete the restoration and retired in 2000.

“He told the police he had a clear-out of his garage in 2011 and found the nameplate, which he said no-one wanted and had been lying around in an RAF storeroom for a long time.

“The prosecution say you can be sure he stole the nameplate and Mr. Jones bought it and knew he was dealing in stolen goods,” Mr. Keeley told the jury.

Coincidentally, Jones was approached in 2010 by the nameplate’s owner Mr. Whiting for a valuation as he sought compensation from the RAF for losing the heirloom.

“We know that in 2011 Mr. Jones buys it from Mr. Angus and in 2013 sells it, knowing it is the same nameplate he gave a valuation for as it was either lost or stolen.

“When he was interviewed by the police he said he did not inform Mr. Whiting about it because he did not think he would be interested anymore.

“He also denied giving a verbal chain of previous owners of the nameplate to the customer who purchased it.”

The trial continues and is expected to last four days.