John Leslie may sue police after sex case acquittal

FORMER TV presenter John Leslie is set to make a complaint against Police Scotland, and could even sue the force, after being acquitted of sexual assault.

The ex-Blue Peter and This Morning star accused officers of showing “no interest” in obtaining CCTV footage from inside the Edinburgh nightclub where he was alleged to have put his hand down the back of a woman’s trousers on her hen night.

The bride-to-be had told the court Leslie had touched her bottom as they danced in the Atik nightclub in Edinburgh in June 2017.

But, after a two-day trial at Edinburgh Sheriff Court, the charge was found not proven.

As a result of the case, he said, he had “lost a year of my life”, adding: “I lost dignity, respect, and I’m unemployable again, even though I was acquitted.” Leslie told The Mail On Sunday: “I feel as if my heart has been ripped out by this latest case and it has been the worst experience of my life.

“I will be making a formal complaint to the police, but I also wouldn’t rule out a civil action.”

He continued: “I blame the police. At the very least I’d like an apology.

“I was detained and charged in the early hours over an incident in a public space in a nightclub covered by CCTV, yet the police showed no interest in obtaining the footage.

“Those films, taken from two different angles, show the young woman dancing quite happily with me. At no point does anything inappropriate happen.”

Leslie alleged that the police “were pretty selective in their evidencegathering”. He said his defence team secured the CCTV footage which proved he was innocent.