DETECTIVES investigating allegations that an East Lancashire property millionaire lied to claim insurance for a £120,000 watch broke rules during his interview, a court has heard.
The evidence came to light during a dramatic third day of the trial of Toby Whittaker, who denies conspiring to defraud over falsified burglar alarm records and fraud in relation to an alleged false claim following a £400,000 raid at his home in Back Lane, Read.
It emerged during 32-year-old Whittaker's cross-examination by prosecutor Andrew Longworth, that Detective Sergeant Nigel Watson and Detective Constable Will Biggar, of Ribble Valley CID, had not given Whittaker 'prior disclosure' that he was to be questioned about where he kept the diamond-encrusted Rolex Oyster Perpetual watch.
The crown allege that Whittaker had previously told police it was not kept in a safe, which would invalidate his insurance claim, but later changed his story to a claims investigator.
The error was seized on by defence barrister David Turner QC during his summary, who described the prosecution case as a “dog's dinner” with a “mish-mash of little bits of conversation here and little bits of a statement there”.
He said: “This has just proved undisputedly that they broke important rules. It shows these officers' unreliability.”
Mr Turner QC described the interview errors as 'totally unsatisfactory' and also suggested that Whittaker was the subject of resentment because he was a “young man who had obviously done well for himself and enjoys the good things in life”.
Andrew Longworth, summarising the prosecution's case, said: “He may be a man of fine character in the normal turn of events, but I submit he was a man who chose not to be concerned with his insurance or the safety of valuable items in his home.
“The temptation to tell a lie and say the watch was in the safe was irresistible.”
Judge, Recorder Louis Browne sent the jury out at 4.20pm today to consider their verdict.
Masked men raid luxury home of Read businessman
Read businessman 'lied to claim insurance on £120,000 Rolex'
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