Mr Sheridan recalled the evidence of Brett Harper, who had testified he had walked Mr Sheridan round to the flat, owned by Duncan Rowan's brother, the accused claims he stayed in when in Aberdeen, how Mr Harper found this memorable as he had handed in his final piece of University coursework that day and had a birthday celebration arranged he had been late for as a result of taking Mr Sheridan to the flat, and that this had got him in trouble with his girlfriend “who is now, sadly, his ex-girlfriend”. Mr Harper had also recalled Mr Sheridan's visit to the Steiner school earlier, and Mr Sheridan suggested to the jury that “his evidence was strong and credible”.
Mr Sheridan mentioned the two Crown witnesses, Ruth Adamson and Ralph Barnett, and how when they testified in 2006, couldn't remember the months of the year, but now claim they remembered the actual date of meeting Mr Sheridan in Kingennie Court, Dundee. Mr Sheridan then suggested to the jury that Brett Harper's evidence on it's own was enough to find reasonable doubt on this part of the charge.
Mr Sheridan then asked the jury to reflect on something the Advocate Depute had put to them in his summation, but that Mr Sheridan was “reluctant to call it evidence”, and that “I'm sure I'll be getting two or three of the belt from Lord Bracadale” for overstepping the mark in his summation, but hoped the Advocate Depute would also get one or two, then recalling how Mr Prentice had shown the beginning of an 0161 Manchester area telephone number from Mr Sheridan's diary which, in place of the final digit, had the numbers “3 or 5”, or “3.5” as the Advocate Depute had put it, before suggesting to the jury “this could be a code, this could be disguised”. Mr Sheridan then stated that this had never been presented as evidence from a witness and it was “not the Advocate Depute's job to invent evidence – 'perhaps he's hiding it from his wife'”, going on to state that in the deleted charge against his wife Gail Sheridan, she had been accused of witnessing Mr Sheridan phone directory enquiries for the Cupid's club. Mr Sheridan then suggested that, in the days before more modern directory enquiry technology when someone told you over the phone the number you were looking for, it was not unreasonable to expect you might write the number down, and that “you might write down the number with the couple of digits you thought it was, and you might get it wrong”.
Mr Sheridan moved on to Katrinne Trolle, asking why she would lie about Ryan Sloan, the solicitor acting for Mr Sheridan's lawyers who had been sent a letter from the Procurator Fiscal regarding possible implications of Ms Trolle's comments that he had told her twice that she did not need to attend court. Mr Sheridan stated it was lucky that Mr Sloan had been advised to tape record that meeting, as “that tape recording probably saved his career”.
The evidence from Gillian McFarlane – Mrs Sheridan's sister – was recalled, when she testified she saw her husband at home in the morning before her work, then in the evening after returning from work, and that “if you found her in any way credible at all, the whole Cupid's story is blown apart”. Mr Sheridan recalled how the Advocate Depute, in relation to the other witnesses of the Cupid's chapter, had reminded that jury that Andy McFarlane had “called them liars”. Mr Sheridan described Mrs McFarlane as a “hard working woman, get's married, has a child”, and that the Advocate Depute had suggested that Mr McFarlane was not immobile after his hip operation, asking “do you think you would notice he wasn't ion the house when she returned from work? I think you would”, adding “if the evidence of Andy McFarlane and Gillian McFarlane is in any way credible, you cannot convict as it is reasonable doubt”.
Mr Sheridan compared the McFarlane's evidence with Tony Cumberbirch, “you may have formed the impression of him being a bit of a smart alec” until he was asked about his charge sheet which was “as long as your arm”, and especially the charge of “reset”, where Mr Cumberbirch may not have realised what he was admitting to when he said he “took the rap for that one”, thereby admitting having previously lied in court. Mr Sheridan then pointed out that Mrs Cumberbirch had been unable to identify him in court, despite Mr Cumberbirch having claimed he had identified Mr Sheridan previously when he was on Big Brother, and had pointed him out at the time to his wife.
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