Police fight Barrymore bid for £2.4m damages
Battle over his wrongful murder arrest
LORDS FAULKS QC ACTING FOR ESSEX POLICE YESTERDAY MICHAEL Barrymore should get just £1 compensation for his wrongful arrest and not the £2.4million he wants, police have argued in court.
The TV presenter was held on suspicion of rape and murder six years after dad-of-two Stuart Lubbock, 31, died in his swimming pool.
Barrymore, 66, was released without charge and awarded
“more than nominal damages” when the arrest was ruled unlawful last year.
Yesterday Essex
Police insisted its action was “justified” and argued he should only get nominal compo.
Their QC Lord Faulks said: “We should not lose sight of the fact a young man died.”
Butcher Stuart was found after an all-night party at the comic’s home in Roydon, Essex, in 2001. Stuart Lubbock
He had a significant level of alcohol and drugs in his system and serious injuries. No one was charged over the death at the time.
In 2007 Barrymore was held after a new inquiry, but the police action was ruled unlawful and false imprisonment because the arresting officer had not been properly briefed. Yesterday the police said Barrymore could have been lawfully held by another officer, so only nominal damages of £1 should be made, not the “substantial” sum sought. Lord Faulks added: “The family, as well as their distress at this young man’s death, have never obtained a true explanation for it.” Hugh Tomlinson QC, for Barrymore, told Court of Appeal judges Sir Brian Leveson, Sir Ernest Ryder and Lady Justice Hallett there were never grounds to suspect his client. But questioning why Barrymore fled before police had arrived, Justice Hallett said: “It seems the judge was rather generous to find that not suspicious.”
The arrest led to “distress… and reputational damage” as well as lost earnings, his lawyers said. Outside court, Stuart’s father, Terry, 73, who has suffered a number of strokes, said: “I want to know if Barrymore would concede my son died at his home.”
The hearing is expected to end today with judgment likely later.
A young man died… his family has never obtained a true explanation for that
Stuart’s father Terry