Thorpe case: Pakistani tells of cash payments

Press, 7 December 1978, Page 9

Thorpe case: Pakistani tells of cash payments

NZPA-Reuter Minehead, England [ A wealthy parsee from Pakistan has told the Minehead Magistrate’s Court of handing over bundles of banknotes to a friend of the politician, Jeremy Thorpe — money which a prosecuting counsel has alleged was used to pay off a hired gunman in a murder plot. Thorpe, aged 49. the former leader of the Liberal Party, and three other men are before the Minehead Magistrates Court accused of plotting to kill a former male model, Mr Norman Scott. Mr Scott, who is 38, claims to have had ai homosexual affair with the i politician, who the Crown' alleges feared a public! scandal and wished to! silence him. The Crown alleges that an ; airline pilot was hired for; 10.000 to kill Mr Scott, but! — either because he lost his, nerve or his pistol jammed — he only shot dead Mr; Scott’s Great Dane bitch. Rinka, on a misty October; night in 1975 in the hills' above Minehead. The Crown alleges that the contract money came unwittingly from a Bahamas-based millionaire and Liberal Party benefactor, Mr Jack (Hayward, who was asked by (Thorpe in 1974 to make two 'payments of £lO,OOO each to [an account in the English' ’Channel island of Jersey. I This account was operated by Mr Nadir Dinshau. the I parsee whose wealthy family | live in Karachi but who is ■ himself a Jersey resident. The Magistrates, who (must decide whether, the lease warrants trial by judge land jury, have heard I evidence from Mr Dinshau;

who met Thorpe on an airport bus in 1969, and became his friend and godfather of his son, Rupert. Mr Dinshau said that in 1974 Mr Hayward paid 10,000 into the Jersey account. Instructed by Thorpe who said it was for election expenses, he paid it to merchant banker, David Holmes, former deputy treasurer of the Liberal Party, who is accused with Thorpe. Later Thorpe had arranged for a second such payment, and Holmes had said he wanted this money “in cash i bits and pieces,” said Mr Dinshau. “I began paying at once ! — sums of roughly 500 or 1600 pounds at a time,” Mr I Dinshau told the Court. I ; Payments had been made, lover a period ending late in 1976 at meetings with' 'Holmes at a London hotel! [and at the Reform Club, a] ! stronghold of the British; Establishment. Thorpe, Holmes, a carpet :dealer, John Le Mesurier; and a night-club owner, [George Deakin, all deny ; charges of conspiracy to murder. Thorpe additionally denied a charge of incitement to murder’ Mr Dinshau told of his anxiety after press and police inquiries began. He said Thorpe had telephoned him in 1977 to tell him that “everything was all right and above 'board.” Later a “very distressed”; Thorpe took him for a drivel round St James’s Park near; Buckingham Palace, and said! “there were people anxious: ■ to destroy hi .” Mr Dinshau emphasised | that Thorpe had told him' jtlat he was not worried! [about possible charges ofj I conspiracy to murder. Hei

had said he was concerned only about his political career and possible allegations that he had failed to manage party money properly. Mr Dinshau also told the ■ Magistrates that Thorpe had said to him, “It will be curtains for me” if the truth became known about some of the payments Mr Dinshau had handled. i Later Mr Dinshau said that the politician had urged I him not to say more than he , was asked to say about the • payments. Thorpe had said, “It will • be curtains for me, and you will be asked to move on,” ■ Mr Dinshau told the Court, adding that he had believed •ithat Thorpe meant he could I be compelled to leave Brittain. [ The Crown alleges that an Hairline pilot, Andrew NewI ton, was paid £5OOO for the bungled murder i .; The Court also heard evidence from Mr David Miller, ;;a bald, burly printer who, told of . introducing-Newton , to George Deakin. He also said that on the i night the dog was shot, Newton had come to his ' premises and stripped his gun there. Newton was jailed in 1976 I for shooting the dog. but he did not at his trial say that I he was part of an alleged i murder conspiracy. Mr Miller later told the ■ Court about an episode in •which, he said. Le Mesurier '■had handed the gunman an u envelope stuffed with banknotes. in a Welsh brickyard. I By this time. Mr Miller ; said, he had wanted to protect himself and had been II tape recording his telephone i-calls and had hired private i I detectives to photograph the ■-hand-over. r >| He had driven Newton to

meet Le Mesurier. He had stopped the car at the side of a road and L.e Mesurier had drawn up in his car alongside, when all three had got out. “A car drove by with a girl hanging out of the window photographing the three of us. Mr Le Mesurier said ‘Let’s get out of here. They’ve got a photograph of us. That will link me with Holmes’.” Then they had driven to the brickyard, Mr Miller said. Photographs were shown in court which Mr Miller agreed were of himself, Newton, and Le Mesurier. Under cross examination Mr Miller was asked about sums totalling nearly £9OOO which he has been paid for his story by newspapers and television companies. He agreed that some television teams had filmed simulations of the hand-over. He had been...paid £Booo’ [by the “People” newspaperI for a package which includ-j ed tape recordings and a full i statement, he said. Mr Miller told Mr Gareth Williams, Deakins lawyer, that he had not W'anted the money. “I even asked my solicitor to offer it to the blind school,” he said. "Have you sent it to the', [blind school?” demanded Mr! Williams. “No,” Mr Miller replied. i j He said he had wanted his' 'story made public because it; was "a volatile package,”! and he had been afraid he' might be in danger because J of what he knew. Mr Miller also told the' [Court that he had told the; [police that Deakin had asked; i him if he knew someone I [“who would be prepared to I frighten someone for i i money.”