The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
CPS defends move to drop case against ex-footballer
The Crown Prosecution Service has defended its decision to drop an assault charge against former footballer Nicky Butt but pursue the case against Caroline Flack.
Ex-Manchester United player Butt, 45, had been accused of beating his estranged wife Shelley Barlow last April, but the case was discontinued when prosecutors offered no evidence.
It is understood that Mr Butt’s defence was that he accidentally damaged her mobile phone, and did not know how she had sustained a cut to her hand.
The CPS came under fire in the wake of the death of TV presenter Flack, 40, who took her own life while awaiting trial for allegedly assaulting her boyfriend.
Ms Barlow did not want to give evidence against estranged husband Butt, and Ms Flack’s boyfriend Lewis Burton had said he did not support the prosecution against her.
A spokesman said that the circumstances of the two cases were different.
The CPS spokesman said: “It is not appropriate to compare unconnected cases, as deciding whether the public interest test is met depends on the individual circumstances of each complaint.”