" Half your age?" " I know." "It's wrong." "It won't end well." "He knows it's against the rules." "Billy..." "We're not sure how he fits in to modern life." "What are you saying, miss?" "When you've had 15 years at the bar, I might be interested in your opinion." "Right now, you don't exist." "This is not about me." "This is about who the jury believes." "So, Abortion Act, 1967." "Let's book you in, shall we?" "Hey!" "Whoa, whoa, whoa." "Well, you're in front of Donovan, so you never know." "Well, why are you here?" "Client needs to know the result quickly." "Is the client all right?" "Why would I grant bail to a 16-year-old with four pages of form and a trial date a few days away?" "Why would I do that?" "Good morning, Your Honour." "Good morning, Miss Costello." "Gross indecency, public place, broad daylight." "Could go to prison for some time if convicted." "Why would I take the risk?" "It's his mother's funeral tomorrow afternoon." "That's a prison issue." "Yes, it is, but they can't or they won't take him and, well, he's threatening to commit suicide." "That's emotional blackmail." "Well, four suicides in the last three years where Mark Draper is being held and 38 serious attempts." "They're not very good at keeping vulnerable children safe." "Are you saying he'd be less safe in custody than he would be on bail?" "It's a brave proposition for any member of the bar to put." "Oh, braver still for a judge to act on it." "Are you flattering me, Miss Costello?" "I wouldn't try that on someone with Your Honour's integrity." "He's 16 years old, his mother is dead and he wants to say goodbye to her." " Is there a father on the scene?" " No." "Where would he stay?" "There has to be a residence condition, and a proper one, so that a curfew can be enforced." "I'm sorry, I really am, but I can't grant unconditional bail." "Martha." "Go on." "35 Maverly Street, NW5." "Whose address is that?" "It's Michael Connelly, Your Honour." "My instructing solicitor." "That is a brave proposition." "You're one of a kind, Michael Connelly." "Just trying to do what people should have been doing from a long time ago." "And what's stopping them?" "He is." "And..." "And the nice man that got chatting to Mark three years ago in an amusement arcade in Leicester Square." " A pimp?" " Uh-huh." "But Mark's been on remand for four months." "Away from his pimp." "This is our chance, Martha." " Miss." " Jake." "Do you want to thank me for the listing?" "What?" "I'm not sure any other judge in that building" " would've given your boy bail." " Oh." "Thank you, Billy." "He's always quite fancied you, old Donovan." "You really know how to make a girl feel good." "Thanks, miss." "You're the best there is, miss." "Bet you say that to every member of chambers." "Ah, you're a product, miss, with a USP I can sell over and over again." "When I put you up for something, everybody knows what they're getting." "And what are they getting?" "Now you're just fishing." "I'm pregnant." "Can you sell that?" "I thought barristers weren't allowed to wear their robes outside the court." "Do I care about rules like that?" "The Lord Chief." " Hi, Bob." " Hello, Niamh." "Bob?" "Bob the Lord Chief?" "What kind of pupil are you, Niamh Cranitch?" "First time in 15 years" "I've known something about me own life before you do." "You don't know what to do, do you?" "No." "We'll manage this." "When a barrister comes back to chambers in his wig and gown, what's he saying, Jakey boy?" "He wants everybody to know he's been over the road in the Court of Appeal?" "Bang on." "Clerking in his blood, that boy." "Don't tell anyone, Billy." "Of course I won't." " Hello, Shoe Lane Chambers..." " Good result, sir?" "It'll be in The Times legal report, so, uh, good publicity for chambers, which is what matters." "You're the best there is, sir." "Billy?" "Yep, two minutes, miss." "You in court this morning, Martha?" "Just a bail application." "Nothing, really." " Yes, miss?" " Aged debt." " Miss?" " £9,000, I know, dating back two years." " Well, I've tried..." " No, you haven't." "What's that, miss?" "You don't want to rock the boat with big solicitors by demanding payment for a junior member of chambers when the same solicitors bring the senior end so much heavy work." " That's not true." " You're lying." "I can read your face like a book." "Okay." "Quid pro quo." "The money is tight at the junior end so there's no room for new tenants." "I don't want any newcomers taking a bite of my small pie." "We say no to both of them." "Agreed?" "That's for chambers to vote on." "Not many go against what you want." " Pupil." " Yeah?" "Turnbull and everything since." "I need all the case law by 6:00 tonight." " Start with Archbold." " Yeah, I don't actually..." " Yes?" " Nothing." "Good luck." " Been a while since we co-defended." " Have we ever?" "September 1999, multi-handed common assault," "Hendon Mags, we went in there all wigs blazing, we killed them, all of us walked." "It was unforgettable." "Yeah, except you don't wear wigs in Magistrates court." "Yeah, well, metaphorically speaking." "Noah, I was just wondering if I could borrow your Archbold." "Oh, sorry." "I don't bring it into chambers when I don't need it." "Mr. Zeigler, Andrew Wiles, your con, is here." "The cottaging?" "You're having your con in chambers?" " Yeah." "You're not?" " No." "Five minutes, morning of the trial." "It's not like legal aid's got money to throw around." " Sorry about the Archbold." " Don't worry." "What he means is he spends no time in Crown Court so he doesn't actually need his Archbold." "He hasn't left home in years." "Where's yours?" "On order." "If you'd care to follow me, Dr Wiles, my office is just upstairs." "You all right?" " Hello." " Hi." "Mark, this is Martha Costello." "That man there, Michael Connelly," "I can't tell you what professional risks he's taking by having you on bail in his house." "Don't betray that trust." "Is that your sports car in the car park?" "Yeah." "Where are you from, Mark?" "Stoke." "It's a dump." "Yeah, it's a horrible, miserable dump." "But they do have Rory Delap." "You haven't really given Michael any instructions." "And we need instructions." "I wasn't doing anything." "Do you spend time in that park?" "No." "Never been there before." "And the toilet, it's a notorious cottage, is it?" "I don't know." "It was the first time I'd ever been there and I was just taking a piss and the copper jumped us." "How old were you when you started working, Mark?" "Can I tell Martha?" "Thirteen." "Ran away from home and came to London." " Drugs?" " I don't do drugs." "My mum." "It's what he's running away from." "She died of a heroin overdose." "I'm sorry." "Glue?" "Yeah." "Tell me about the people arrested with you." "I know one was a middle-aged man and the other about your age." "What else can you tell me?" "A suit and a leather jacket." " That's it." " And had you seen them before?" "Nobody even goes cottaging any more." "It's bullshit, this." "The jury will almost certainly hear about your previous convictions for indecency and dishonesty." "Nobody will believe you were there to have a pee." "Well, they'll have to." "I didn't do it." "I wasn't even in a cubicle." "I need to know about this if you want me to help you, Mark." "I'm not pleading guilty." "That's fine." "I'm not going to push you into anything you don't want." "That's the deal." "So what were you doing?" " Going for a walk?" " I swear on my mum's life." "They're, um..." "Heavy." " Michael." " Hello." " Is the funeral in Stoke?" " Mmm-hmm." "And who's paying for him getting there?" "Well, Stoke City Reserves are playing at home, and I have always dreamed of seeing Stoke City Reserves." " Oh, no, no, no." " Ah-ah-ah." "Half." "Please." "Thank you, Martha." " Bye-bye, Clive." " Bye." "Dorothea complex." "What?" "Women in love with the idea of helping people." "Just don't try and compete with St Michael in the compassion stakes." "I do what I can." "So do I." "There's a thin line between helping people and self-indulgence." "I mean, how long do you actually get, 10 minutes in their lives?" "And then you step right in and..." "I mean, what are you actually going to do?" "Are you a social worker, a parent, a psychiatrist?" "Who do you think we are?" "You know, the best thing you can do, and the most honest, is win." "That's what it's all about." "And move on to the next one and win that." "The rest is just ego." "If you really did invest in everyone you represented, you'd have burned out years ago, and you haven't, have you?" "You always, always pick up when I call." "Get in here now, sir." "Right." "Dangerous dogs." " Holloway Mags." " When?" "Now." "Go." " It's half past one." " So you're late." "Hello." "Yes, I've got Noah Zeigler." "And it's husband and wife and they hate each other." "Yeah, he's 17 years." "Cool?" "Quick coffee?" "The cottaging?" "Anyone would think you didn't have a life to live, Martha." "Okay." "Okay." "Um..." " Where's Holloway Mags?" " I don't know." "Don't get headless." "It takes 15 minutes to get there, and they know you're coming." "So three minutes with me now will help you." "Right, so single issue." "Always the same." "Is it a pit bull or not?" "So it's length of hips, width of skull, size of bite." "Measure these against the breed standard." "Will the dog be there?" "No." "No, the measurements are in the brief." "The dog's in custody." "And it's secret location nowadays 'cause owners started mounting these mad rescue bids." "Okay." "Measurements, Nick." "The bigger the difference from the breed standard, the easier it is to argue that you're a Labrador or whatever." "Male or female?" "Is your dangerous dog a boy or a girl?" "Uh, girl." "Oh, no, no, no, that's Niamh's dog that's the girl." " So you're co-defending with Niamh?" " Yeah." "They'll send a member of chambers down to watch." "That's what clerks do to get a look at rival pupils in court." "You're in a contest." "No, no, no, it is my dog that's the girl." "Okay." "Well, ask someone if she's an entire bitch." "Just makes you sound like you know what you're talking about." " You look different." " Mmm." "Fresh lipstick." " Go!" " Right." "Thanks, ma'am." " Oh." "Um, Nick?" " What?" "Temperament." "That's the other thing." "Cross-examine the prosecution's expert on the dog's personality." "Because they never spend more than 10 minutes with the dog." "Okay." "Which one would you take on, Jake?" " The thing about Niamh..." " Yeah?" "She's got, like, quite nice jugs." "Okay, Jake, leaving the jugs aside." "I don't know." "You ever seen the film Sophie's Choice?" "Meryl Streep and a Nazi concentration camp guard." "He offers to let one of her two children live." "She has to choose between them." " Which one does she save?" " Can't remember." " Neither." " No, no, no, that's not right, John." "Well, there's not enough work at the bottom end to go round." "It'd be unfair on the junior tenants to take either people on." "Counsel is instructed to represent Steve Crocker, owner of Frank, who is charged under Section One of the Dangerous Dogs Act." "Counsel will be aware of the usual defence." "The usual defence." "Yeah, like how long are your legs, how thick is your tail, that kind of thing." "Um, Niamh." "Niamh." "When I left primary school, right, we had this leavers assembly and everyone had to go up and shake the hand of the head, it was like her way of giving us a blessing or something." "But everyone loved Miss Tweeny 'cause she smelled really great." "There was this one kid, Nicky Young." "And when he went up, she bent down to shake his hand, and do you know what he did?" "He kissed her, full on, right on the mouth." "But it was brilliant." "The whole place erupted with laughter then." "Apart from me." "Why not you?" "Because I knew what he meant." "He didn't want to go and he did want to go." "And it was his way of expressing that." "I don't understand." "Right." "Let's, um, let's do this." "Are you the mother of Phoebe?" "Oh, God." "Sorry." "Um..." "Owner." "Owner, not mother." " Steve Crocker?" " Yeah." "I'm Niamh Cranitch, I'll be representing you today." " It's nice to meet you." " Nice to meet you." "I hope you can sort this out for me." "Okay." "Right." "This is Frank." "Right." "Good name." "Good, honest name." " Yes, miss?" " My cottaging trial on Monday." " It's listed for two days." " Yes, miss." "Can you keep me out of court on Wednesday?" "Just for one day." "Are you sure?" "No." "Take the Monday and the Tuesday." "I can't." "I'm doing this." "I'll return it." "They won't miss you and I think you need the time." "Speak of the Devil." " Michael." " Can you speak?" "Yeah." "I've had to go to Dorking." "Mark's in the café under our office." "I'm sure he'll be okay but..." "No, no, no, I understand." "No, he shouldn't be on his own." "I'm sorry, Martha." "No, it's okay." " Twenty minutes?" " Okay, thanks." "Bye." "I've got to make sure a vulnerable teenager makes it to his mum's funeral tomorrow." "How would I do this with a baby?" "Hello, mate." "Can I ask you a question?" "When you've got two defendants and you're cross-examining a witness, who goes first?" "I'm the usher." "Yeah, well, you've probably seen about 4,000 cases." " Whoever's first on the list." " Thanks, mate." "Um, Martha said the measurements would be in the brief?" " Yeah." " For the dog, like, for Phoebe, but not the breed standards they're measured against." "Shall I call the solicitor?" "And make it look you don't know what you're doing?" " They'll never brief you again." " Well, I'll Google it, then." " Two minutes." " Okay." "Word of advice." "Fiddling with your phone in front of the client doesn't look good." "Why are you here?" "To watch you two." "See who's got what it takes." "Boy from up north, or a family friend of the Lord Chief Justice." "In case you're worried, my judgement on your performance" " will be purely professional." " Right." "Steve Crocker and Sue Crocker." "About time." "Look up "pit bull, breed standard"." "I'm as clear as it's possible to be that Phoebe and Frank are pit bull terrier types within the meaning of the act." "Um..." "How long did you spend with Phoebe?" "I took my time." "Oh, really?" "Like, 10 minutes?" "Fifteen?" "Four hours." "It's vital to look properly at temperament as well as physical makeup." "I wouldn't ever want to appear in court without giving a dog a fair crack of the whip," " given the penalty." " The penalty?" "The death penalty." "Is there a defence expert?" "Um..." "No." "No, there isn't." "Well, you'd better put your case properly." "Yeah, um..." "My case is that" "Phoebe is not a pit bull terrier type." " She is." " She's not." "Very incisive, Mr. Slade." "Are you planning on deepening your line of questioning?" "Um, is Phoebe an entire bitch?" "Yes." "Thank you." "Frank." "Front leg from point of elbow to the ground, one-third of his height at the withers." "Breed standard, half of the dog's height at the withers." " Well..." " Right or wrong?" " Right." " Frank's tail, one and a half inches around at the base and one and a half inches at the tip." "Breed standard, two inches at the base and half an inch at the tip." " Yes." " What kind of a pit bull is Frank?" "Uh, small one." "Possibly a runt." "He's not a runt." "How dare you?" "So small that it's possible he's a Staffordshire." " What was the verdict?" " Guilty." "What, both?" "Yeah, both." "The magistrate just hates dogs." "Uh, sorry, but where are you?" "In the foyer." "You?" "Babysitting." "Look, I'm really sorry but I've got to go." "Mitigation." "What can I say to save Phoebe's life?" "Well, sometimes, Nick, you've just got to face the music." " There you go." " Thanks." "Mr. Connelly's working." "So you needed some company." "Who'll be at the funeral?" "Don't know." "Nobody." "Don't know." "Mark?" "Thanks." "What for?" "For getting me out on bail." "My mum." "Feels good." "I mean, it's bad." "But it feels good to be going up there, you know, for her." "It's Mr. Connelly you should thank." "Maybe I could repay him by not betraying his trust." "Hello?" "Yeah." "I can't get ahold of him." "I need you to keep calling him until you get him." "And when you do, can you tell him to ring me straight away?" "Yes, miss." "Who, miss?" "Oh." "Michael Connelly." " What's happening?" " I don't want to talk about it." "Because we're co-defending or because you're stupid enough to get in too close to a rent boy?" "Somebody has to take responsibility." "I will not just stand there and let a child disappear from view as if he never existed." "You will." "You'll have to." "Coprophagia." "Do you know what it's like living with coprophagia?" "I can imagine." "Tore us apart, me and him." " Could I ask you a question?" " Hmm." "What is an entire bitch?" "She's not." "I'll tell you that for nothing." " Sorry?" " Why do you think we never had any kids?" "I gave them one last night together." "You know, normally when Phoebe was in heat we'd keep them apart for obvious reasons but..." "I couldn't..." "You know, maybe it's the woman in me." "Their last night together." "Bye." " You love dogs, don't you?" " What do you want?" "I know I'm not allowed to know where the kennel is but you know where it is." "And, um, well, you saw Phoebe there two days after the arrest." "What do you want?" "Can you call them?" "There's a question I need you to ask." "Mr. Slade." "Phoebe suffers from coprophagia." "Which is an incredibly serious condition which she and her loving owner have had to live with for, um..." "Well, um, for years." "Thank you, Mr. Slade." "Anything more?" "She's pregnant." "Phoebe is pregnant." "You can't kill unborn puppies and you can't kill a mother who's pregnant with unborn puppies." "Because that would be..." "This is England." "Is there a case law on this?" "Yes." "There's a discretion to place any dog on the Index of Exempted Dogs." "You can't destroy pregnant bitches." "Exempt her." "Put her on the Index." "Frank is the father of these unborn puppies." "Hold on, what are you trying to say?" "That these puppies need a father figure?" "I'm sorry." "David Cameron may be Prime Minister but the primacy of the nuclear family does not extend to dogs." "Stand up, please." "Steven Crocker, I fine you £300." "And I make a destruction order in relation to your dog." "Well, say the name." "Have the courage to say the name of the dog you're killing." "Susan Crocker, I impose the same fine." "And in relation to your dog, she will be placed on the Index of Exempted Dogs." "What does that mean?" "Your barrister will explain everything." "Tell me now!" "Phoebe is free to go." "Come here, you beautiful genius!" "Oh, thank you so much!" "You clever, clever boy!" " Thank you." " You're welcome." "Sorry." "Was it a phone call or..." "Lots of texts." "And then he answered a call." "Will you still take him to Stoke?" " Yes, if he shows up." " It's my fault." "What do we do about the bail position?" "Leave it." "It was listed, Michael." "You can't not report a bail breach." "I feel like saying it's all over with Mark." "I can't do that." "Well, you wouldn't be much help to him by being struck off, would you?" "Sorry." "No, no, no, no, no." "It's..." "It's been two years, that's all." "Trying to get him away from his pimp." "You said there were glimpses of hope." "He's good, you see." "Mark feels cared for." "It's classic grooming." "Can you believe it?" "That bastard." "Forcing a boy to have sex with those disgusting men is seen by the boy as a source of love." "Reminder to myself about the curfew." "I'm going." "I'll call you." "How do you stand it?" "By telling yourself, over and over," ""All you can do is give them an alternative."" "Then it's their choice." " Hey." " So?" "So..." "Phoebe's alive and so are her puppies." " Great!" " Yeah." "First ever trial, a capital case, and you saved the puppies." "Doesn't get better than that." " Was anyone in there watching you?" " Yeah, Clive." "So he witnessed your triumph." "Have you done it?" "The research I asked you for." "Oh, God!" "No, sorry." " Why not?" " He was in court, Kate." "Yeah, we're all in court, Martha." "We all do more than one thing at a time." "How did Niamh Cranitch look in court?" "Like she's been doing it for years." "Nick Slade?" "I've made it a policy not to comment on any pupils" "I can't be positive about." "Sentence at Wood Green Crown Court, miss." "Court Five, first up at 10:00, your first time in a wig." "You're free tomorrow, sir." "You okay?" "Yeah." "Okay about not working tomorrow when Niamh is?" "Yeah, yeah." "Good." " You okay?" " Yeah, fine." "Why wouldn't I be?" "I'll see you tomorrow." "You want to carry on talking about your case." "It's just funny, though, isn't it?" "It's tough to move on." "I'll never know what happens to Phoebe." "She's got coprophagia." "I don't know what kind of life she's going to have." " Do you know what that is?" " No." "It's dogs that eat their own poo." "Night, Nick." " John Bright?" " Yeah." "Yes, sir." "Okay, I'll tell you what." "I'm going to pass you on to Max." " All right, boys, I'm off." " Signature there, please." " Playing hockey tonight, John?" " Yeah." "Miss." "Billy." " Just one question." " What is it?" "Who's the father?" "Doesn't he have a say?" "I want to talk about Billy." "All other sets have a fees clerk." "Why does Billy insist on doing the money?" "I checked the constitution." "The committee recommends the chambers on clerking issues." "Clerking issues?" "You want him out, Kate." "It's a bit bigger than a clerking issue." "Armed robbery, yardie gang members, humped-up crackheads, you're not afraid of any of them." "But Billy..." " Who's on the committee?" " You and me." "And Alan Caldry, who's in The Hague for two more months." "I don't know, Kate." "It might also be a chance to get rid of some dead wood." "What does that mean?" "How much does Noah Zeigler bring to chambers?" " Oh, sorry." " It's all right, John." "Here are some cheques, miss." "I traced your aged debt." "Got about half of it." "And I hope you don't mind, miss, I saw you were out of court on Monday." "It's prosecuting other members of chambers for gross indecency." "I was thinking maybe concentrating on prosecuting might be a good way to go for you." "Thank you." " Let's go there." " No, I don't like it there." " No." " Let's go to the other place..." "Hello." "No word?" " What, nothing?" " No." "Wait." "You lied to me." "You promised me you wouldn't let him down and you did." "I'm here, aren't I?" "You didn't go to your mum's funeral." " Billy." " Zeigler can't make it." " Why not?" " He's got chicken pox." " Chicken pox?" " It's his five-year-old." " Yeah, okay." " Is Nick with you?" "Is he there?" "Yeah, yeah." "He's here." "Noah's five-year-old has got chicken pox, and so has Noah." "Now look, you don't have to do this." "You have to say no if you can't handle it." " You could help me as we go along..." " No." "It could be cut-throat, this." "I won't be able to help you." "What did Billy say?" "Billy doesn't want it returned out of chambers." "Well, who's, um, who's representing the other defendant?" "I love a chambers outing." "No Noah?" " Yeah, he's ill." "I'm doing it." " Excellent." "What if he jumped bail tonight and you hadn't mentioned this?" "If we tell the judge, he'll be back inside tonight." "Yes." "I'm not going to let that happen." "We're not really in this story." "We need to keep it that way." "Great advocacy is knowing when to do nothing." "Too many barristers have too big an ego to keep quiet." " Right." " And Martha Costello is representing the 16-year-old co-defendant." "She'll make a big noise and cross-examine everything in sight, because that's her way." " Which suits us rather well." " I get it." "Were you wearing that jacket on the day?" " Yeah." " Take it off." "I don't want the jury thinking about you at all." "It matters how you behave in the dock." "Right?" "Keep it nice and quiet." "What about the other one's brief?" "Oh, it's his first time, we don't need to worry about him." "Chicken pox?" "Yeah." "Really?" "How old is he?" "Mmm..." "Forty-something?" " Yeah." " But this is..." "I've never even met you before." " And we haven't had time..." " It happens quite a lot." "I know it's not great for you, but..." "When did you find out you were taking over?" "Um, well, as soon as we knew Mr. Zeigler wasn't doing the case, then..." "I was briefed, but luckily I was..." "Well, I happened to be out of court and available." "Where's your brief?" "It's being biked." "You haven't read it?" "I'm completely used to this." "Um..." "I know all about how to handle this kind of thing." "So, how long have you been married?" "Twenty-three years." "The same year that Andrew started in his GP's practice." "And why were you in the park?" "It's a short-cut home." "He's a lot more than a GP." "He's like a doctor and a vicar and a social worker." "You don't know how rare that is nowadays." "How many children have you got?" "Who was that, Mark?" "Your pimp?" "Is that where you were last night?" "No." "Good." "You're very young, Mark." "What does that mean?" "I want you to have a future." "You better get me off, then, hadn't you?" "I can't go back inside." "I know." "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a man going into a public toilet for the purpose of emptying his bladder will stand at a urinal a reasonable distance away from men already present." "There are 10 urinals in this public toilet, all in a row." "Numbers one to seven were not in use when PC Vernon made his observations." "Numbers eight, nine and ten were all being used by the defendants in the dock." "Now, there's a thing." "The third defendant, in the leather jacket, came in and stood at the tenth urinal." "He was followed in by the man in the suit, who stood at number nine." "What was the man in the suit doing?" "He had his flies open." "Then the defendant in the leather jacket turned and looked at him." " Then what happened?" " The youngest defendant came in." " What did he do?" " Went and stood at urinal number eight." "And he said something to the man in the suit." "I didn't hear what, but the man in the suit turned slightly towards him with his flies open and smiled." " Are you sure about that?" " 100%." " Then what?" " Then it looked like they were gonna go into the cubicles behind them." " Did you do anything?" " Well, normally for evidential reasons," "I'd wait until those involved were further on with the criminal act." " But..." " Because I was concerned about the boy," "I wanted to stop what was going to happen so I went in and made the arrests." "Where were you?" "Uh, when?" "When you saw what you've just described." "Um, I'm not sure I can answer that." "Oh, really?" "Uh, really." "Mr. Slade, think, please." "Don't tell me you've forgotten where you were, right?" "Because, I mean, you're very precise about who did what when, but you don't even know where you were positioned to see all of this from?" "Point of law here, I think, Your Honour." "We seem to be trespassing into difficult waters." "Jury out, please." "The police officer's surveillance position is covered by public interest immunity." "No question can be asked which might suggest where his observation point is located, because any future operations might be compromised." "Yeah, but I've already asked about it now." "Which is why you are going to have to explain to the jury your mistake." "Treat it as a lesson learned, Mr. Slade." "It's my fault for bringing it up." "PC Vernon was not being evasive or hiding anything." "Sorry about that." "How long had your surveillance of this public toilet been going on?" "This was the first day of actual surveillance." " But you'd been there before?" " Well, a few times." "I just wanted to see that what was being reported was going on." "And you didn't see Mark Draper there?" "Oh." "Well, uh, yes, I did, actually." "Uh, twice." "Miss Costello?" "Did you volunteer for the surveillance?" "We'd had a lot of complaints from members of the public who were worried." "They kept talking about how young some of the cottagers seemed to be." "But it was you who was there voluntarily, staking out a public toilet." " My superiors weren't interested." " Why not?" "They didn't want to put the resources in." "So, despite opposition and complete lack of support for this operation, you went ahead, under your own steam." "As a frolic of your own." "If you like." "And what does that tell us about your motives?" "Determined, single-minded, bit obsessed." "I know the word you'd really like to use." " And what is that, officer?" " Homophobic." "Tell us, PC Vernon, do you have any friends who are gay?" "Almost all of my friends are gay." "My client is the man who was" " wearing the leather jacket." " Yes." "He was the first of the three" " to go into the toilets." " Yes." " He didn't go and stand next to anyone?" " No." "So he was there, but he didn't speak or act?" "That's right." "If he had, you would have told us about it." " Yes." " Thank you so much." "That's the way to do it." "Could we have the jury out, please, Your Honour?" "I got this brief pretty late in the day and..." "What I'm saying is" "I want to make sure my client's getting the representation he deserves." "Very well." " We can all come back on..." "Wednesday?" " Your Honour." "And possibly avoid making any more unhelpful mistakes." "All rise." "You said you'd never been there before." "You specifically told me that was your first time in that bloody toilet!" "I'm sorry." " I don't have a choice." " About what?" "Look, I'm trying to help you." "I really want to help you, Mark." "But I can't carry on representing you any more." "Why not?" "Because you told me one thing and now you're saying another." "And, well, that makes it impossible for me." "Where you going?" "To tell Michael that I'm professionally embarrassed." "Guess what I've just seen." "Michael, I have to talk to you." "The whole case blown wide open." "He's been lying to me." "Let me guess, you're in a difficult position professionally, right?" "Fine." "So the rule is all you're allowed to do" " is test the prosecution case, right?" " Yes." "We can do that." "Don't give a defence, don't call the defendant, fine." "Wide open, Martha." "Hiya." "Now, all these need faxing." "Jessica Mercer also has to go to a con room." "Does that make sense?" "Thank you." "Wednesday, miss." "I thought you needed to be out of court on Wednesday?" "There's nothing I could do about it." "Part-heard is part-heard, what comes first." "It was Mr. Slade's application for an adjournment?" "Did you support it?" " I didn't object to it." " Right." " Right, so you supported it." " I didn't say that." " Did I say that?" " Fine." "See you later, miss." "Very brave, that." "Having the courage to stand up and admit you're not ready." "What is your spin on my top-class cross-examination of PC Vernon?" "No spin, just a fundamental legal error." "Yeah, well, I'm going to work all night if I have to." "Are you?" "Whatever happens, remember what you said, Nicholas." "You've got to move on." "Only my mum calls me Nicholas." "Hi, Martha." "Shouldn't really flirt with your pupil, Martha." "Shouldn't fuck them, either." "Just like there were suddenly two people at the urinal next to the one I was using." " And what did you do?" " Nothing." "Then I was being arrested." "Have you been arrested before for cottaging?" "Your Honour..." "March the 15th, 2009 for gross indecency." " Your Honour!" " Were you charged?" "No." "I'm struggling to see the relevance here, Miss Costello." "Who arrested you?" "Mr. Lakeman?" "PC Vernon." "Why were you arrested and not charged?" "Your Honour, that's not something my client can answer, as my learned friend well knows." "Please tell this jury what you and PC Vernon were talking about" " in the court toilet." " What?" "Or is my instructing solicitor seeing things?" "We were both just having a pee." "How many urinals?" " I don't know, a few?" " Five." " And where were you standing?" " At the end." " And where was PC Vernon standing?" " At the urinal next to mine." ""It is a truth universally acknowledged."" "What were you talking about?" "Look, why don't you go after him?" "He's the one who..." "Yes?" "You don't know what you're talking about." "Oh." "Don't I?" "Try this." ""You're the honey-pot."" "Am I wrong?" "You still don't know what you're talking about." "Look, I don't have to do this." "You know, ask Vernon, he'll tell you." "Just leave me alone now, please." "Chris Lakeman was arrested by me in 2009 but not charged." "Why not?" "Because I recognised him for what he was." " What was that?" " A victim, not an offender." "He was 16 then." "I kept up with him afterwards." "He got away from the people who were running him." "I helped where I could, he got back to a normal life." "And when did you see him again?" "When this started to happen." "I knew what it was." "It wasn't an ordinary cottage." "It was a meeting place for men to meet rent boys." "Nobody wanted to know, because boys like that don't matter." "They've dropped out of sight." "I didn't have the wherewithal to mount my own investigation," "I asked Chris to help." "Maybe it wasn't fair of me, but he was willing." "I thought that if I could get one arrest, word would get out and I could at least make it harder for them to do what they were doing." "And it worked?" "And Chris?" "He had to be arrested, too, so it would look right." "And then he's acquitted, because you make sure that the evidence against him isn't strong enough?" "Yes." "You know what this is." "This is entrapment." "You can't do this on your own, you need..." "Well, you need to do this properly, or what are we all doing here?" "What about men like him paying pimps to gain access to young boys?" "Nobody was doing anything." "I couldn't have that." "Could you?" "This isn't about Miss Costello." "No." "Do you want to consider your position, Miss Brockman?" "Under the circumstances, prosecution do not feel able to offer any further evidence." " Are you okay?" " Uh, yeah, yeah." "Different kind of not guilty." "Yeah, I know." "Thank you, Martha." "Thank you." "Go on, then." " Mark." " Is that..." "Yes, it is." "Mark." "Come on, Mark." "Now, come on, Mark." " Listen, just..." " What you want?" " Think about what you're doing." " Leave me alone, Michael." "You've missed your appointment." "Yes." "Do you want me to give 'em a call?" "Book another appointment?" "I don't think so." "Okay." "Okay." "A racist police officer, is that what you're giving me?" "There's fearlessness in standing up to people, and then there's just pigheadedness." "You won't get this, Billy, being a clerk and not a lawyer, but it seems to me that you're conspiring to pervert the course of justice." " Is that your idea, John?" " Yeah." "Since when do you have ideas?" "What's going on?" "One of my boys has gone restless on me." "Don't get all law school with me, son." " Or?" " Or I'll have you nicked for wasting police time." " Mark Draper." " What about him?" "He's just been arrested." "It's not for cottaging this time, miss." "It's for murder."