How charity interfered with case

THE Grail Trust faced criticism in court for interfering with the police investigation into the assault claims by persuading the victim to sign a sworn statement that he had not been abused by the vicar.

Lawyers acting for the trust questioned him without the knowledge of Indian police. Gregory Retnaraj, a lawyer and trustee of Grail Trust India, persuaded the youngster to sign a prepared statement which ‘retracted’ his previous claims of abuse. Robinson tried unsuccessfully to use the statement to get the case against him dropped, which led a judge to accuse him of witness tampering.

Court documents also reveal that the charity continued to give the victim money and support with his education following the allegations.

Mr Retnaraj represented Robinson during initial court hearings in India. The trust is run by another Anglican clergyman, Neil Fairlamb, who was a Conservative candidate in the 2015 general election.