Former Manchester United footballer and ex-Wales manager Ryan Giggs has been cleared of allegations he assaulted his ex-girlfriend and her sister.
It comes after charges were withdrawn by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) at a hearing at Manchester Crown Court.
Mr Giggs, 48, has always denied assault and controlling or coercive behaviour towards Kate Greville, 38, and assaulting her sister Emma.
Judge Hilary Manley directed that he was not guilty on all three counts.
The retrial had been due to start at Manchester Crown Court on 31 July.
Jurors failed to reach verdicts following more than 20 hours of deliberations after his four-week trial in August last year.
Mr Giggs was not in court on Tuesday as the judge had agreed he did not need to attend.
‘Taken its toll’
Prosecutor Peter Wright KC told Manchester Crown Court that the CPS were not now proceeding with the case.
He said Kate Greville had “indicated an unwillingness” to give evidence in a retrial as giving evidence in the first one had “taken its toll” on her and her sister.
Mr Wright said: “This is not a decision taken lightly.
“In this case, Ms Greville and her sister Emma gave evidence over a number of days in a case when there was considerable media and public interest, and it is that particularly that’s taken its toll on them, in particular Kate Greville.”
Mr Wright said there had been “protracted” efforts to find out why she was unwilling to co-operate with a second trial but prosecuting lawyers did not think it appropriate to issue a witness summons to compel her to give evidence for a second time.
He said there was no realistic prospect of conviction on count one of coercive and controlling behaviour, and it was no longer in the public interest to proceed to prosecute on the other charges of assault on Ms Greville and her sister.
He added: “That being the case, we formally offer no evidence on counts one, two and three”.
‘Rebuild his life and career’
His defence barrister, Chris Daw KC, said: “Mr Giggs is deeply relieved that the case has finally come to an end after almost three years of fighting to clear his name.
“He now intends to rebuild his life and career as an innocent man.”
The former footballer denied “losing control” and headbutting his ex-girlfriend and assaulting Ms Greville’s sister, Emma, 26, by elbowing her in the jaw during a row at his home in Worsley, Greater Manchester on 1 November 2020.
Mr Giggs was due to go on trial for a second time facing the same charges, after the jury in the first trial was discharged.
The jury was made up of 11 people – seven women and four men – after one of the original 12 jurors had fallen ill.
During the trial, Mr Giggs admitted to being unfaithful in relationships but, when asked if he had ever physically assaulted a woman, he said “no”, adding that he had never set out to control or coerce a woman.
The trial was told of the alleged assault on 1 November 2020 at his home in Worsley, Greater Manchester, where the couple returned following a row at dinner in which she accused Mr Giggs of messaging a string of women.
Jurors heard the pair tussled over their mobile phones, leading to Emma Greville, who was looking after the couple’s dog, calling the police.
He denied the accusations and alleged Kate Greville kicked him in the head.
‘Our legal test is no longer met’
A CPS spokesperson said: “At all stages we keep cases under careful review, to ensure our legal test is met. This means there must be a realistic prospect of conviction based upon the available evidence and a prosecution is in the public interest.
“Following a recent change in circumstances in this case we have determined our legal test is no longer met.
“We have determined there is no longer sufficient evidence available to proceed in respect of the controlling or coercive behaviour charge and that it is no longer in the public interest to prosecute the remaining assault charges.
“This decision was made following detailed discussions with Greater Manchester Police and consultation with the complainants.
“It is not the function of the CPS to decide whether a person is guilty of a criminal offence, but to make fair, independent and objective assessments about whether it is appropriate to present charges for the criminal court to consider.
“We encourage any potential victims to come forward and report offences to the police and we will prosecute wherever our legal test is met.”
The Cardiff-born former player made 963 appearances for Manchester United, scoring 168 goals.
He also played 64 times for Wales, and went on to manage his national team.
He stepped away from his role in November 2020 after being arrested and resigned as manager in June 2022 while awaiting trial.
His replacement Robert Page went on to take Wales to their first World Cup in 58 years in Qatar at the end of 2022.
Source: bbc.co.uk
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