Post by Thomas Leonard Ross KC

I am currently reading 'The Last Word - An eye-witness account of the Thorpe trial' by Auberon Waugh - and a highly entertaining account at that On Friday 24th October 1975 the Right Honourable Jeremy Thorpe was the Member of Parliament for North Devon and was the Leader of the Liberal Party. That night - in a dark lay-by in Somerset - Andrew Gino Newton shot 'Rinka - a Great Dane - through the head, then pointed his pistol at Norman Scott. Fortunately for Scott the pistol jammed and he survived. On Friday 4th August 1978 Jeremy Thorpe was arrested and taken to Minehead police station, where he was charged with conspiracy to murder Norman Scott. It was suggested that Scott and Thorpe had been in a homosexual relationship and that Scott was in possession of letters that could make things difficult for Thorpe Amongst many extraordinary characters, the one who stands out is The Hon Sir Joseph Donaldson Cantley, the trial judge. His conduct - assessed by the standards of 2026 - borders on the unbelievable. Consider - for example - his description of the chief witness for the prosecution - the intended murder victim - Norman Scott 'He is a fraud. He is a sponger. He is a whiner. He is a parasite. But of course - he COULD be telling the truth ... You must not think that that - because I am not concealing my opinion of Mr Scott - I am suggesting that you should not believe him ... I am not expressing any opinion' Unsurprisingly Privy Councillor Jeremy Thorpe was acquitted. By then he had lost his Westminster seat and was allowed to fade into obscurity. Peter Cook's famous ridiculing of Judge Cantley at the Secret Policeman's Ball was later watched by millions on television ... 'you may choose to believe Mrs Scott - in which case I can only say that you need psychiatric help' I managed to obtain a copy of Auberon Waugh's wonderful account of the trial on Abe Books. I would recommend that you do too