12:58 EDT, 17 May 2021
The widow of a former Court of Appeal judge who is on trial for alleged historic sex offences has been described as very gregarious by former foreign secretary Sir Malcolm Rifkind.
Sir Malcolm gave evidence in a temporary Nightingale court at Peterborough Cathedral, Cambridgeshire, on behalf of Lady Lavinia Nourse.
She is accused of repeatedly sexually abusing a boy in the 1980s with the knowledge of her late husband, Sir Martin Nourse.
She has denied five counts of indecently assaulting a boy and 12 counts of indecency with a child between 1981 and 1990.
Lady Lavinia Nourse is accused of repeatedly sexually abusing a boy in the 1980s with the knowledge of her late husband, Sir Martin Nourse.
Lavinia Nourse, 77, of The Severals, Newmarket, arrives at court in Peterborough
- Credit: Jacob King/PA Wire
Former foreign secretary Sir Malcolm Rifkind has given evidence as a character witness in the historic sex abuse trial of Suffolk s Lady Lavinia Nourse.
The widow of High Court judge Sir Martin Nourse, who died in 2017 aged 85, Lady Lavinia is currently on trial at Peterborough s Nightingale court at the city s cathedral.
The 77-year-old, of The Severals, Newmarket, denies 17 counts of sexually abusing a boy under the age of 12 in the 1980s.
All of the charges relate to the same male complainant and are five counts of indecently assaulting a boy and 12 counts of indecency with a child.
Dame Mary Archer has given evidence as a defence witness at the trial of one of her "closest friends" Lady Lavinia Nourse, who is accused of historical.
By Press Association 2021
Lavinia Nourse court case
The widow of a Court of Appeal judge who is charged with historical sexual abuse has told a court that her accuser had wanted money from her.
Lady Lavinia Nourse was married to Sir Martin Nourse, who died in 2017 aged 85.
The 77-year-old told Peterborough’s Nightingale court that a man, who has accused her of sexually abusing him as a boy in the 1980s, was “obviously after money”.
Defence barrister Jonathan Caplan QC asked Lady Lavinia why she used the word “blackmail” when the boy confronted her as an adult.
She said that he was “making demands of me”, adding: “It seemed like it was to do with money.”
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