A witness who "lunched too well" was sent home to sober up by an impatient judge. Evidence of Kevin Allaway's excessive liquid intake emerged within seconds of him climbing into the witness box.
He had been due to give evidence against Trident submarine contractors accused of conning the Ministry of Defence out of almost £500,000.
But before Southwark Crown Court prosecutor Paul Garlick, QC, could begin his examination-in-chief, Judge Nicholas Loraine-Smith intervened to point out Mr Allaway was clearly not in a fit state to give evidence.
He replied: "I am always like this, your honour." The judge told him to step down but "not leave court". Mr Allaway, who used to work for scaffolding company chief and self-confessed fraudster James McLaughlin, then inquired: "I will go and sit at the back of the court like a good little schoolboy, shall I?"
After a short adjournment, jurors were brought back into court and told by the judge: "Mr Allaway. Here was someone who lunched too well."
"I am not going to allow him to make a fool of himself or the court so he is not going to give evidence this afternoon. Neither is he going to give evidence tomorrow because he has a funeral to go to. He will, however, give evidence Monday morning. Clearly he was not in a fit state to give evidence today."
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