"Billy said this judge might be a reference for my silk application." "He said that to me, too." "Your silk application is unlikely to fail." "You're headhunting me?" "Clive's just offered me tenancy somewhere else." "What, he wants you to go with him?" "In a way, you don't have a choice." "You'd be tainted if you stayed." "You were going to say yes to him." "Gary Rush is a horrible burglar with pages of form." "Say hello to Martha Costello." "Tell her she's the girl for me." "I'm pregnant." "I just thought you should know." "It's your right as the father." "I don't want anything from you." "You're keeping it?" "Billy..." "We're not sure how he fits in." "What are you saying, miss?" "What Billy does is invisible." "He does things that we don't see and probably don't even want to see." "We employ him, not the other way round." "I want you on the inside of this coup, working for me, feeding me everything I need to know." "I think if Martha came over to us, the rest of chambers would follow." "Okay." "A return." "Just came in from Paper Lane." "We don't want their sloppy seconds." "You'll want this." "Tony Paddick?" "I'll call you back." "This is the same Tony Paddick, I take it?" " They had some QC on it." " Baines." "Yup." "Well, his murder trial ran on, no one else in their chambers was free, so..." "So it's landed on our lap." "Big kudos for us acting for both sides." " Remind me, when is it listed again?" " Tomorrow." "Oh, fun and games." "Somehow we've got to squeeze in one more trial." "Miss Costello, Mr. Reader..." "Silk interviews means one of them is going to have rather a busy day." "Bingo." "You got it yet?" " What?" " The answer." "Eight words or less, that's what they said." "If you can't sum it up in eight words, then you don't know what the answer is." ""Why do you want to take silk?"" "Because I'm a competitive bastard." "Five." "Five words, you?" " The money's good." "Three." " Yeah." "Great, then." "We're all set." "Any problems?" "They don't make decent suits for women who are 14 weeks pregnant." "I meant the interview training." "Cost us a bomb sending both of you." "Did they teach you anything?" "Don't assume you've already got it, because you'll appear arrogant." "Don't criticise your colleagues when you answer." "And try and sum up the reason for applying in eight words or less." "Eight words?" " "To get Billy off my back."" " Yes!" "Two days' work." "Return came in this morning." "You promised me you'd keep the day free." "I promised that if we're not busy, we are." " Tony Paddick?" " Yeah, he's that teacher." "Remember him?" "Beat the shit out of that kid?" "I don't do prosecution." "Why, you got no chums in CPS?" "No, I don't go drinking with policemen." "You need a good prosecution under your belt before this interview." " Easy win, slam-dunk, bosh." " Mmm." "Noah." "Two hundred kids in that playground, one of them filmed it." "CPS are expecting you this morning." "Take a cab, on me." "Thank you very much, sir." "Cheers." "Bye now." " Camden Mags, drunk driver." " When?" " Tomorrow." " What did you say?" " I said thank you." " Oh!" "Spiffing." "Let's cram another one in, shall we?" "Nice suit you're wearing there, Miss Brockman." "Whatever it is, Jake." "I don't have a window in my week." "Oh, come on, miss." "How can you say no to a face like that?" "Okay." "How about "piss off"?" "Is that in my list of options?" "Always." "It's been a long time." "Oh, hello, Martha." "What?" "Been a long time since we were against each other." "Tony Paddick." " Oh, please, don't tell me." " Mmm, as of 9:00 this morning." "We should just carve it out." "Hang on." "I haven't even got the ribbon off yet." "Ah!" "It's always round about now." " What?" " Scavenging." "There's always a trolley here mid-morning, sir." "That's not what I meant." "Been with us, what, three months?" "It's always round about now that the old bank account runs a bit thin." "I just missed my breakfast." "Long enough to use up the overdraft, but not long enough to start getting paid properly." "It's always the ones that aren't spoony." "The ones that don't have a silver spoon..." " Silver spoon in their mouth." " Yeah." "Want a brief?" "Please, yeah." "It'll pay for the shopping and the rent." "Camden Mags." "Drink driving." " Mitigation." " Cheers." "Uh, when?" "Tomorrow." "I'm kind of at a loose end." "Is there anything you need me to do?" "I'm busy reviewing old cases." "Oh, right, of course, your interview this week." "Is there anything I can do to help?" "You know, take the pressure off?" "You could work in the library." " What?" " Give me some space." "Most helpful, really." "Ask around, see if anyone else has got work." "What's going on?" "Oh, it's probably best." "Now that you and I..." "What?" "You and I what?" "Don't make this difficult." "The baby doesn't change anything, Clive." "I don't expect you to start planning your life around us." "Martha?" "The fees, the selection of briefs." "One guy in charge of everything." "The system isn't working." "You're concerned because you can't get on with him." "I'm concerned because it's starting to feel like a dictatorship." "He's our face." "He's our public face." "He's the link between us and the rest of the legal establishment." "They all come with an Essex accent." "For God's sake, this isn't a class thing." "He's getting very reckless." "There's a group of us, we think that we should rationalise..." "Look, look, look." "You want me in your gang when you kick Billy out of the door." "I am suggesting that we redefine his role." "Sorry." "No." "Let's not talk about this again, ever." "Feels dirty." " I've blown it." " What?" "Chambers, tenancy." "Clive's just asked me to move out of his room." " What did he say?" " He says that he needs some space." "Um, he's got his interview this week." "I'm sure it's nothing to worry about." "What are you doing?" "Drink driving." " You've got a brief in your name?" " Um, yep." "See?" "I told you, that proves it, you're in, I'm out." "Might as well pack up my stuff now!" "Billy just happened to walked past me in the... corridor." "Niamh!" "Uh, uh, uh, oh." "Uh, 20 Wimpole Street, please." "Sorry, you've been waiting." "Uh, Miss Costello?" "Martha." "I can give you a few minutes." " Tony Paddick's just landed with me." " And you're familiar with it?" " I've read the file." " So, you've got questions." " One." " Okay." "Attempted murder." "Very hard to make it stick." " That's not a question." " I can phrase it like a question." " You're worried that the charge..." " It's notoriously difficult to prove." "You want to change it?" "Tony Paddick lost his temper." "He was wound up by some kids in his class." "I can't see intent, can you?" " Your predecessor..." " He didn't have a problem with it?" " No." " Great." "Well, he passed you up for another case and I'm at the helm now and I'm afraid I do." "So, perhaps you could set aside some time and try to convince me." " What did she say?" " She gave me a lecture." "Her Joan of Arc impression." "We've all heard that before, haven't we?" "I'm really sorry." "I don't know where she is." "I'm really sorry, Mr. Rush." "Oh, don't give me "I'm really sorry, Mr. Rush."" " Because I'm sick of it..." " What's he doing here?" "He says he's got a con booked, but there's nothing in the diary and Miss Costello is not here." "I'll handle it." " What do you mean?" " I mean she's unavailable." "She's double-booked." "If you want, you can discuss your concerns with me." "Are those stockings or tights?" "Shall we talk about the trial?" "Which ones does Miss Costello wear?" "This is a teacher who's been singled out, victimised." "It's a pretty tough school and there's a whole gang of kids got it in for him." "All this stuff they've plastered on the internet, it must have got to him." "Common sense says he just snapped." "Look, I have to stand up in court tomorrow and try and persuade the jury that the charge should stick." "Attempted murder." " Well, quite frankly, I don't see it." " So?" "Section 20, GBH." "We'll get a guilty plea, I guarantee it." " Can I ask you a question?" " Sure." "How much time have you given this?" "Nine months this has been on my desk." "And you've come in here to steer me straight?" "I call it as I see it." "Ah, you've done the deal already, I suppose." " What?" " His counsel is a colleague of yours." " We haven't discussed it." " Same chambers." " We haven't discussed it." " I don't appreciate being undermined." "I came to you first." "You should read the brief, in full." "I mean, you should devote more time to this than just a taxi ride." "Three minutes between the attack and the end of the lesson." "He didn't lose his temper in the classroom, lesson ended, he went to his office, three minutes later the boy knocked on the door." "Paddick invited him." "Three minutes is easily enough time to plan and execute a murder." "This internet hate campaign, he became obsessed." "Thinks he spots the boy responsible." "Post-traumatic retrograde amnesia." "He beat him so hard the kid can't even remember what happened." "Couldn't Prosecute Satan." " The CPS." " The CPS." "I've heard that joke before." "Yes, but how do you think these things get started?" "Two barristers do a deal on the sly, try to kick our legs out." "We haven't discussed it yet." "Section 20, of course not." "Oh." "I've been looking for you all day." "I was at the CPS." "I've got a case, tomorrow." "Oh, good." "Well, congratulations." "Drink driving." "Guilty plea." "Just over the limit, drove off the road." "It's mitigation." "Make the judge's heart melt." "I don't want to cock it up." "I need a script." "Please." "Two minutes." "Right." "So..." "No previous, won't reoffend." "Other people's lives destroyed if he goes to jail." "You've got to make him seem like a special case worthy of redemption." "So find something, anything, to hang it on." "Right." "That is brilliant." "No, that's standard stuff." "Stuff you should already know, I can't always hold your hand." "Miss?" "I'm up to my ears, what do you need, Jake?" "Your con." "You forgot him, Miss Cranitch did it." "What con?" "I didn't have a con." "Seriously, all he wanted to talk about." "Your clothes?" "Did it bother me that I always had to wear black?" "Spent more time staring at my tights than at my face." "Creepy guy." "Well, thank you." "Jake said it could have turned nasty." "Martha, the work that Clive's giving me, it isn't really filling my day." "It would be good if I could work with you on this." "Aggravated burglary with attempt to commit a sexual assault," "I'm already familiar with all the details." "I think you should ask him first." "You were right." "It's embarrassing for him having me around all the time." "I need a new mentor." "I intend to stay clear of him socially from now on." " Kennedy's or Wig and Brief?" " Sorry?" "I'm buying you a drink." "Somewhere that isn't just round the corner." "Do you reckon it was him?" "I don't want to speculate, thank you, but somebody definitely broke in." "Have you told the police?" "About my stockings?" "No, you're right." "It's a bit late for that." "You should have told them about the medal." " It means you'll get 20." " Yeah, okay." "Morning, miss." "All geared up for today?" "Two of Shoe Lane's finest going head to head?" "Mmm." "A word." "So do you think she's going to make a complaint?" " Well, it won't be official." " What exactly did you do to upset her?" "Attempted murder." "It's a wrong call, I told her." "So now she thinks you're in cahoots with Mr. Zeigler?" "Mmm-hmm." "It's always delicate when both sides are in the same chambers but she'll get over it." "We have to be extra cautious." "Separate clerks." " Chinese wall." " That's a bit excessive." "I don't want to give her any cause to criticise." "Fine." "Right, Chinese wall it is." "Miss Costello is in here, I'll take care of her." "John handles Mr. Zeigler in the clerks' room." "Don't put anything in their pigeon holes unless it's sealed in an envelope." " What's going on in there?" " A Chinese wall." "The MP3 stuff you asked for." " Shall we maybe start again?" " We're not flatmates." " We don't need to get along." " I just thought it might be easier." " All set?" " Mmm." "Ready to take him down." "I've got my truncheon, knuckle duster." "I need to give you this." " An advice." " I don't understand." "I want it on record, in the file," "I think attempted murder is a wrong call." " But we agreed." " Yeah, you're paying for it." "So if it's what you want, it's what you're getting." "Excuse me." "All right?" "All right?" "Morning." "All right, if you'd like to follow me." " All rise." " Thank you." "No problem." "Rational." "Bet you're going to say that word a hundred times today." "Please don't talk to me." "Yes, Miss Costello." "The bell went, I saw Tony in the corridor." " What was he doing?" " Just walking, over to the office." "And how did he seem?" "Was he... rational?" "He seemed normal." " Yes." " And what happened next?" "I went outside on duty." "Next thing, one of the children came to find me." "She was sobbing, said there'd been a fight." "I mean, I just assumed that..." "Obviously, I thought it was just kids." "I went into the office and found them." "Tony was sitting at his desk," "Sean was lying on the floor." "And was he conscious?" "No." "He wasn't moving." "And what were the nature of his injuries?" "His, uh..." "His face..." "It was just a mass of blood." "So much blood." "I just..." "I didn't recognise him." "I was in the office, free second lesson." "The bell rang, Tony came in just a moment later." "I was marking books, so I didn't chat to him." "The phone went, Tony answered." "What was the phone call about?" "I didn't hear the whole conversation, I was leaving." "And how did he seem?" "Was he shouting?" "He was just conversing normally." "Oh, he appeared to be having a rational conversation." "Yes." "Sean, the pupil, he knocked on the door as I was going." "To be clear, Tony Paddick left his classroom, went back to his office, took a call, and all this time he was conversing normally." "Is there a question, Miss Costello?" "Do you like Tony Paddick?" "I don't know him well." "He'd worked at the school three years." "You shared an office." "Do you like him?" "I suppose." "And did you know about the internet campaign against him?" "Yes." " And did you talked about it ever?" " No." "Never." "Did you ever talked about professional problems?" "Well, this was personal." "How is it personal when students are involved?" "How is it personal?" "Did Tony Paddick ever see his students outside of school?" "There was a party." "Tony Paddick socialised with his pupils?" "A 16th birthday, one of them invited him." "And you thought that he shouldn't go?" "There's a price you pay for crossing those boundaries." "He became the centre of gossip and the kids..." "They all started to target him afterwards." "How did you know?" "One of the photos on the web page, was her at a party." "Jury cares if he's lusting after 16-year-old girls." "They've got children, too." "We just kicked out his character." "Take a seat." "Your barrister is not here yet." "Oh, no, no, no." "I'm not the client." "I'm here to meet the Turleys." "Why are we meeting here and not in chambers?" "Disabled access." "His wife's in a wheelchair." " Thank you." " Pleasure." "Amy, which English set are you in?" "Five." " And who's your teacher?" " Mr. Paddick." "And is it a good set?" "Is it the top set?" "It's bottom." "Describe the lesson for me on that day." "Normal." "I mean, lots of noise and that." " What kind of noise?" " Jokes." "People not concentrating." "And how did Mr. Paddick react?" " Okay, I guess." " And where was Sean?" "He was sitting near the window." "He had headphones and Paddick, Mr. Paddick, came and took them away." "Just the headphones?" "And Sean's MP3 player." "Mr. Paddick said that he could come and get them at break." "So, he invited him to come back at break?" "Where?" "He told him to come over to his office." "Amy, were you ever at a party that Mr. Paddick attended?" "Yes." "And what went on at that party?" "Just dancing." " Was Mr. Paddick dancing?" " Yes." "Slow dancing?" "I suppose." " Did you dance with him?" " Loads of us did." "Yes, but did you?" "Yes." "Thank you, Amy." "Thank you so much, Amy." "You've been really helpful." "Did you see uniform?" "The girl?" " Brand new." " Yeah, so?" "So..." "She's 16, about to leave school, and they buy her a whole new uniform." "I bet her real skirt is only half that length." "Sexually provocative teenager." "They dress her up, so he looks like the evildoer." "Don't want to risk the jury feeling too sorry for him." "Yes, exactly." "So why hasn't Noah pounced on it?" "Of course, I know we should have got a taxi." "There's no point in saying it now." "Taxis can be difficult." "Most of them..." " It's tough to get the chair in." " Mmm." "It's not an excuse." "I know I'll have to pay for what I did." "You were both in the car?" "And the little'un." "We had a family party." "My brother's finally got engaged." "I only live a few streets away, so..." "People keep filling up your glass, you lose count, you know." "Um, Mr. Turley, we need to make you a special case." "You've already pleaded guilty and the Probation Service have filed a pre-sentence report." "Now, there's likely to be a prison sentence, but the length of the sentence depends on what happens next." "This way." "What is it, second six?" " Tell Billy he's an arsehole." " What?" "Taking stuff like this, farming it out to the diaper crew." "Oh, you think I'm too inexperienced?" "Two-year-old and wife in a wheelchair." "Cock this up and I will kill you." "Three years." "I did my teacher training straight from college." "My first school, I've been there three years this autumn." "And has it been a happy time?" "The first two years." "More recently?" "The kids have not been easy." " In the classroom?" " Yes." "There's one or two." "We can't all get along." "There's a few kids that have taken against me, I suppose, made things quite unpleasant." "How did they do that?" "Firstly, there was stuff drawn on my car." "It became a sort of ritual." "Then the flat." "They came to my flat and broke a window." "I thought, I hoped maybe if I just ignored it, maybe it would stop." "But then they started posting stuff on the internet." "Hmm." "Your Honour, if I may, I'd like to read a couple of passages from the internet message board in question." " Do I have it?" " It's 21." "These were posted on the 20th of March on the web page entitled "Paddick beat it upright."" "I'm not familiar with the term." "It's a rap metal song and slang phrase." "It's, um..." "It's a page where people fantasise about your sexual habits, yes?" "Yes." "Uh..." ""Paddick beats off under the desk in class." "I seen him."" ""Tony P sniffs kiddie knickers" and so on." "Your Honour, there are over 200 such messages here, all posted on the same social networking site, all between March and July of last year." "Your Honour, is there a question on its way for Mr. Paddick?" "Were you aware of the web page?" "Yes, I was." "A kid in my form said he'd seen it so I went online to look." "And how did it make you feel, seeing what they wrote about you, reading these fantasies online?" "Obviously, I felt sickened." "Did you report it?" "I told the head." "There was a brief investigation." "Why did you become a teacher?" "I wanted to do something meaningful." "Not a very fashionable word." "And has it been the career you hoped for?" "Relevance?" "My client's mental state." "It wasn't Mr. Chips." "I mean, he didn't have teenagers smearing excrement on his windows, posting condoms through his letterbox." "And why did you attack Sean?" "I'd had enough, I snapped." "Did you intend to kill him?" "No, no." "Absolutely not." "Thank you." "Miss Cranitch not here?" "No, I've asked her to work elsewhere." "Busy week." "Interview." "Mmm." "And with a new little Reader on the way, don't wants your exes cluttering up your life." "You know something, Billy, you're starting to forget your manners lately." "I mean, don't get me wrong." "I've always found your boorish attitude charming." "I'm one of your biggest fans." "I'd just hate to see it getting you into trouble." "Well, let her know there's some work going begging, will you?" " Thanks." " I hate to see talent going to waste." " Billy?" " Yes, miss." "All that confusion about Clive leaving." "You know my loyalty isn't to him." "It's to chambers." "Yes, miss." "A "blur"?" "Yes, it was." "Your word, a "blur."" "Yes." "Are there any aspects of the attack that you do remember?" "You remember him coming to your office." "Yes." "Remember him coming to collect the MP3 player that you'd confiscated." "Yes." "And then the next part is a blur." "Did he speak to you?" " He muttered something." " Muttered?" ""Letch."" "And then you snapped?" "Yes, I did." "Have you been called names by students before?" "It goes with the turf." "Have you ever lashed out before?" " Never." " Why did you confiscate the player?" "I could hear it in my lesson." " What song?" " I don't recall." "Your Honour, a printout from Sean McDaid's laptop." "It's a catalogue of all the songs in his library." "Beat It Upright." "I don't know rap songs." "You know those lyrics, though." "You'd seen them before on a web page." "A web page where you didn't know the author." "But Sean McDaid had that song on in your lesson." "He had it up loud." "Loud enough to hear the words, loud enough to provoke you in the classroom." "How long had you been trying to find the author of that web page?" " Months." " Were you angry?" "Well, obviously." "What made you angry?" " You serious?" " Mr. Paddick." "What made you angry?" ""Paddick jerks off under the desk in lessons."" ""Paddick feels up all the girls after class."" "It wasn't one, it was all of them, every message." "I wanted to teach." "That's the reason I took the position, so I could teach children English." "Did you attend a student party?" " It was a mistake." " So the answer is yes." "Yes, I did." "Some kids invited me." "Did you dance?" " Yes." " With students?" "Yes." "Yes, I realise my mistake." "What mistake?" "I became the centre of attention." " Because you danced?" " Because..." "Because teenage girls have fantasies and teenage boys become angry and jealous and irrational." "I danced with a couple of students and it left me open to all this adolescent speculation." "The head teacher advised you to ignore it." "And did you?" " For a while." " And then?" "It started to affect things." "Things?" "My home life." "My girlfriend, she..." "She left me." "When was this?" "Mr. Paddick?" "The day before the incident." "And why did she leave you?" "She found stuff on my computer." "Pornography." "What pornography?" "Teacher-pupil fantasy stuff." "These kids, they'd signed me up to some website." "And who was to blame for the fact that she left you?" " Your Honour..." " Who was to blame?" "The person who created the web page." "Who, presumably, owned a copy of that song." "Excuse me." "You've given them intent." " And you've come to congratulate me." " Yes." "Are you planning on making any sort of effort?" "So, silk interview." "Good for you." "Good for chambers." "Good for my overdraft." "Not so good for one's mental state." "Tomorrow morning?" "Yeah." "I just need a couple of hours, start a little late." "Okay." "Right." "No chance of a deal, I suppose?" "Drop the attempted murder." "Section 20, GBH without intent, and then my client will plead." "Look, you want to deal." "I know you want to deal." "Compassion demands it." "It's just common sense." "The man was under extraordinary pressure." "Well, make a case." "Stand up and make a case." "Don't offer plea bargains, do your job." "I'm doing my job." " Hello, mate." " Bag, please, sir." "All right." "There you go." "Is that what I think it is?" "Names of my interviewers." "I don't know one of them." "From the private sector." "And who else you got?" "Only the most high-ranking female judge in the country." "Shit." "Yes, shit." "Exactly." "Cranitch." "Judge Cranitch." " Busy morning?" " Billy found some work for me to do." "Oh, well, good for him." "Do you need something?" "I'm sorry." "Yesterday." "I was abrupt." "It's just nerves, really." "Let me buy you dinner this evening." "Clive, I don't know what's going on." "You're a brilliant pupil and a good friend." "I was stupid." "I'm just worried about my interview, that's all." "I'll make it up to you tonight." "Let's..." "Let's pretend yesterday never happened." "Probation." "Lives destroyed if he goes to..." "Mr. Slade, I'm looking forward to hearing from you." " Sir." " On your feet." "My client, Mr. Turley, has already pleaded guilty." "I'm aware." "What I need to hear from you now is some litigation." "Alex Turley has no previous convictions." " That's it?" " No, no." "Um, he also has a wife who's confined to a wheelchair and a two-year-old child." "His family relies on him for everything." "He's a decent citizen." "And a long custodial sentence would devastate his life, all because of a minor error." "Driving your car off the road and into the side of a house is hardly minor." "Yes, I meant it was a momentary mistake." "He and his wife suffered only minor injuries." "It was a critical mistake that posed a threat to people's lives." "And your tone, your facetious tone, is not doing your client any favours." " All right." " Shall we begin again?" ""Professional, committed, great interpersonal skills."" "You wrote that when?" "Last year." "Mr. Paddick asked me for a reference." "He'd applied for a Head of Department job." "Obviously, I was sorry to lose him, but that is the nature of our world." "Good people you can only keep in post for a time." " And Tony Paddick was good?" " Yes." " Professional?" " Definitely." "Would it be fair to say that a good career is now threatened" " by a moment's madness..." " Your Honour." "Right." "You're not the witness, Mr. Zeigler." "I only met Mr. Turley for the first time this morning." "We had barely 30 minutes to go there to prepare." "Are you trying to excuse a lack of preparation?" "No, I'm trying to make you aware of what was said." "Thirty minutes." "And in that time Mr. Turley made no mention of the word "mitigation"." "He asked for no special consideration." "He said he had no excuse." "Now, he knows he has to pay for what he did." "It's true he has no previous convictions." "It's true that other people's lives will be ruined if he is sent to prison." "Now, if we're willing to show mercies at anyone, surely those most deserving are the people that don't ask for it." "Now, a man who is persecuted by his own conscience does not need the law to join in." "Mr. Turley believes he should be punished." "He wants no favours." "Well, this is precisely the time that we should be granting them." "Thank you." "Your Honour, from the unused material, a document dated December last year." "Is this your writing?" "Yes." "Please tell us what this is." "It's an appraisal statement." "An appraisal of Tony Paddick." "Yes." ""Chaotic classroom management." ""Relationships with his pupils have completely broken down."" "And below, "He has been overfamiliar with some of his students" ""and now he finds it hard to discipline effectively."" " Is this your signature?" " Yes." " You wrote this statement?" " Yes." "About the man who, weeks before in a reference, you said was a committed professional." "Is it hard to get rid of incompetent staff?" "Your Honour, my client's competence..." "Please continue." "It is hard, yes." "It's far quicker just to whisk them out of the door with a good job reference, get them off to the next school sharpish." "Mr. Paddick had a difficult year." "And your school had a problem." "And this is how you chose to manage it." "I'm not anxious to admonish him publicly." "Or to tell us the truth." "This might be a good moment to adjourn." "All rise." " Another wicket." " I'm not winning this." "It's his defence counsel that are losing it." "I wish they'd do something." "I'm going to get him burnt at the stake at this rate." "You okay?" " I'm a bully." " You what?" "I've just spent six hours at the Bailey kicking some bloke's head in." "It's just not me, prosecution." "The CPS want me to play a part and I hate it." "Plus he's on the wrong charge, which makes it intolerable." "Anyway, end of tirade." "Tell me about your day." "Um, sentence tomorrow." "Wants to review the material." " Great." " Mmm." "Lend me some money and I'll buy you a drink." "Right." "Give us that 20 quid, then." "Come on." "Come on." "Thank you." " Hiya." " Hi." "Martha, hey." "Hi." "Dinner?" "Thanks, but..." "But?" "Like I said, I've got a lot of work I need to finish." "Look at this stuff." "There's thousands." "Where's it going?" "Give me a printout of all of it." "Everything." "...subject knowledge, communication, insight." "Technical skill, subject knowledge, communication, insight." "Technical skill, subject knowledge, communication, insight." "Technical skill, subject knowledge, communication, insight." "Those are the four basic areas." "Insight?" "Well, often there's a gap between what a person says and what they're meaning." "Your latest case." "Was it work that made you proud?" "My latest case is ongoing." "Can you tell us anything about it?" "Are you proud of what you're doing?" "I'm doing a job." "That's all?" "I'm doing a job well." "And that doesn't make you proud?" "No, it doesn't." "There's a considerable difference between the two sides." " I don't follow." " Well, I'm better and I'm winning." " And that makes you uncomfortable?" " Yes, it does." "A man will go to prison because I punch lower than my opponent." "People have different skills." " Yes." " Diversity is good." "Well, no, not if it affects the course of justice." "You want a better opponent." "I don't want to win 10-nil." "I want to feel as if they're putting up a fight." " What is it?" " "Don't criticise your colleagues."" "That's the one thing we're told not to do in this interview." ""Don't criticise your colleagues when you answer."" "And answer in less than eight words." "I did that course, too." "You're prosecuting this one?" "Yes." "A prosecutor doesn't win or lose." "She just presents the facts." "So, the head teacher writes a report last year saying your guy's going under, failing in the classroom." "It's the last page in there, nothing after." "What?" "Ask her why there's been no follow-up, no support, no training courses, no inset, no mentoring." "You know a member of your staff is having a tough time, you don't just feed him to the wolves." " This is deliberate." " Do you think?" "A head with a nightmare on her hands, an internet complaint against Paddick, potential scandal, nasty rumours, kids eat him alive?" "So she leaves him at the arse end of the school with those same kids?" "Ask her why!" "She's my witness, I can't do her over." "It's your best chance." "The head was piling on the pressure." "You've just got to prove that Tony Paddick had stopped thinking rationally." "Look, what are you doing, Martha?" "If I was prosecuting this case, I'd cut a deal." "And if I was defending, Tony Paddick would walk." " Set five?" " Yes." "The very worst class?" "The least able." "You left a teacher who you knew was struggling with the very worst class?" "Mr. Zeigler." "I'm trying to establish why a teacher who's under enormous personal pressure was put in this incendiary position." "Set five struggle academically." "That doesn't make them delinquent." "None of the other staff have a problem with them." "You say in this appraisal statement that Mr. Paddick's relations with his pupils had completely broken down." "Yes." "What's the next step?" "You're a very successful head." "How do you turn a situation like that around?" "Miss Costello?" "Your Honour, my learned friend tried to imply that there was a vendetta by the school, that Miss Glover was trying to force Mr. Paddick out." "I wish to establish that that's not the case." "I imagine there was some sort of structured support." " Yes." " What?" "Some mentoring of the failing teacher?" "No." "Counselling?" "The internet campaign had left a mark." " No." " Well, maybe inset?" "To help him address his failings?" "We had one-to-one discussions." " In your office?" " On the phone." "Your phone system in the school, how does it work?" " Um..." " You have a phone in every office?" "Internal lines only?" " Yes." " Relevance?" "Was there a call that day, the day of the attack?" "At break time." "Ah." "So you phoned the English office and you spoke to Mr. Paddick during break time, offering support?" "Miss Costello?" "I just want to underline that Mr. Paddick was not cut adrift by his boss." "What was the phone call about?" "I don't recall the details." "It's okay, just the headlines." "Timetabling, um, for the coming term." "And were there changes to be made?" "Mr. Paddick, he'd expressed his reluctance to carry on teaching set five, that particular group of students." "And as part of your ongoing support, you tried to oblige." "I told him a change wasn't possible." " But you tried to help?" " Yes, of course." "And this conversation, it took place just before the attack?" "Yes." "And how did he react on the phone to the news that he would have to continue teaching this difficult class?" "He wasn't happy." "Was he angry?" "Yes." "Very." "We've heard evidence that Mr. Paddick took a call just prior to the attack." "The point has been made repeatedly that he was in a rational state of mind after leaving his class." "If subsequently he had cause to lose his temper then that has serious implications for the case." "Did Tony Paddick invite this boy into the office with the express purpose of taking his life?" "Or was Sean McDaid an unfortunate bystander?" "And if so, what made Tony Paddick lose control at that precise moment?" "We can nail him to the wall with this stuff." "You actually hacked into his computer?" "Thousands unaccounted for." "This doesn't change a thing." "We're not going to manage this without Martha." "Yeah?" "Call for you, listing clerk, says it's urgent." "Hello?" "Dave, how are you?" "What can I do for you?" "Friday, 2:00?" "That shouldn't be a problem." "Uh, what is it concerning?" "Right, okay." "I'll tell you what..." "Will the defendant please stand?" "Have the jury reached verdicts on which they are all agreed?" "Yes." "On count one, do you find the defendant guilty or not guilty of attempted murder?" "Not guilty." "On Count two, do you find the defendant guilty or not guilty of inflicting grievous bodily harm contrary to Section 20 of the Offences Against the Person Act?" "Guilty." "We will proceed to sentence on count two." "Section 20, GBH, but without intent to harm." "Best possible result." "If you'd been better at your job," "I wouldn't have to bloody do it for you." "What happened in there?" "A prosecutor doesn't win or lose, she just presents the facts." "He's going to prison." "What's the matter?" "Not content unless they clap him in irons?" "What about this guy!" "What's happened?" "I got a suspended sentence." " He's not going to prison." " Boy done good." "Clever bugger." " Guess dinner's on me." " Martha?" " Can I have a word?" " Yeah, sure." "There you go, Jakey boy." "Oh, thanks, Billy." "All that trouble." "Separate clerks, separate faxes." " What?" " The CPS have been on." "They've made a complaint." "What, just because I didn't get the verdict?" "Your advice, pushing for the deal on GBH," "Noah's solicitor found it." "It was in his bundle by mistake." " They sent it to your solicitor." " Oh, God." "She's saying that you gave it to him." "She's saying that you and Noah tried to do a deal and then you lied about it." "How the hell did this happen?" "Billy." "He was clerking you, wasn't he?" "He doesn't make that kind of mistake." "I get half my work from the CPS." "An error like this is going to cost me." "They'll stop sending us cases." "You need to go to the management committee." "You mean turn Billy in." "His mistake." "I swear to God, if you smile at me..." "Privileged files going to the wrong solicitor." "You or Billy." "Choose, Martha." "Someone's got to take the rap for it." "Your co-defendant says it was you who did it." "I was defending myself." "Liar Mark Draper." "I turned around and that's when I saw him stab my husband." " Set up a moot." " Sir?" "I want to see both pupils in action, under pressure." "I've been given an unfair advantage." "A breakaway set?" "We need a head of chambers." "Do you think you'll be a QC this time next week?" "Doesn't add up." " What?" " Mark's story." "You stabbed Colin Guthrie." "Do you deny it?" " No." " I'm telling the truth." "Martha Costello has to do Gary Rush." "You took the words right out of my mouth." "This is the biggest case I have ever done." "I need your support." "You've been lying to me, Martha." "You've been lying to me!"