Michael bright’s defence counsel delivered his closing speech in the trial surrounding the collapse of Independent Insurance this week.
Ian Winter QC said that while the former managing director of Independent had admitted being overbearing in his dealings with staff, this did not mean he was guilty of conspiracy to defraud.
He said: “Undoubtedly his pressure and his drive and his fear about the London market in fact were fundamentally counter-productive for the long-term benefit of Independent, and you may conclude that in it was negligence or incompetence or thoroughly inappropriate management practices, none of which gets you to where you need to be in order to convict him.”
Bright, his former deputy managing director Dennis Lomas and finance director Philip Condon, deny all charges. The case continues.
