View from the court

As I took my seat in Court Two at Southwark Crown Court on Tuesday I felt an air of tension unlike anything I had come across at the trial previously.

The public gallery was littered with reporters, family and onlookers anticipating the end of a lengthy trial – almost five months to the day it began.

Before proceedings got underway, a grim faced Dennis Lomas arrived in the dock – an unfamiliar surrounding for the defendants who had previously sat at the back of the court amongst their lawyers.

The jury immediately broke for deliberation on the final verdict for Lomas. On their return, the decision was delivered promptly. Lomas’ face dropped when he heard ‘Guilty’. He looked towards the jury and shook his head. His wife, sitting alongside me, wiped tears from her eyes.

That signalled an end to the verdicts - the verdicts on the other charges having been delivered the previous day - and the jury were dismissed from their duties. The judge described the trial as “one of the most demanding” a jury could ever face.

In the afternoon, a despondent Bright, Condon and Lomas were all ushered in to the dock. They acknowledged friends and family in the public gallery before their respective defence counsel spoke in desperation on their behalf.

The build up to the verdicts had been a long, slow and often painful journey as page after page of memos and other meticulous documents were hauled in front of the jury.

But the reality of the situation came to light as the three defendants were led away – facing one final night before the judge revealed their sentences.