Police ignored evidence, says Tory cleared of sexual assault

A TORY aide acquitted of sexual assault has questioned police and prosecutors, claiming texts and testimony that proved his innocence were not properly disclosed.

A jury took less than an hour to find Richard Holden, 33, Sir Michael Fallon’s former staffer, not guilty last week of allegedly sliding his hand under a female colleague’s clothes at an office party in 2016. Judge Deborah Taylor said he could leave “without a stain on his character”.

Yesterday he said he had been forced to obtain a court order to get his own phone records – which confirmed accounts by witnesses in his defence – and that police initially claimed not to have interviewed the witnesses until he produced proof to the contrary.

He asked why police had not taken into account evidence from 20 party guests who saw nothing of the scuffle his accuser described, despite being at close quarters.

He told The Mail on Sunday: “We found out belatedly that police contacted everyone at the party who all said they saw and heard nothing. But the police chose to ignore it. I had to track them all down and they confirmed none had seen any sexual assault, let alone hear someone scream ‘Get off!’”

A spokesman for the CPS said there was “no failure of disclosure on the case”. He added: “This case was prosecuted because it met the evidential and public interest tests set out in the Code for Crown Prosecutors. We respect the decision of the jury.”