Reality star was ‘handcuffed and arrested unlawfully’

A Real Housewives of Cheshire star accused of yelling anti-Semitic abuse at a property developer was handcuffed, arrested unlawfully and ‘carted off’ to a police station, according to her lawyer.

Dawn Ward, 48, who is married to ex-Premier League footballer Ashley Ward, allegedly accosted Jake Jacobs and his brother Sam as they spoke to a customer service worker at Euston Station.

She allegedly shouted ‘Jewish c–t’ at property developer Jake 26, and told the brothers: ‘Why are you lot always complaining?’

The reality star was found to have cocaine in a cigarette packet, Inner London Crown Court, sitting at the Royal Courts of Justice, was told.

The investigating officer, PC James Springhall, was only a trainee at the time of the incident on October 29, 2019.

Lisa Judge, defending Ward, questioned whether PC Springhall had carried out a proper investigation.

She read out a statement from the station manager, Prashant Bhatt, which she said should have raised doubts as to the reliability of the complainants’ accounts.

‘The males were creating a scene, shouting security needed to do something, that she had just racially abused them,’ it read.

‘Just because your wealth and your surgery has gone wrong, I heard. It appeared the woman had had botox in her lips.’

‘That would be inappropriate behaviour wouldn’t it? A red flag,’ asked Ms Judge.

‘Yes,’ replied PC Springhall.

‘Dawn Ward comes over and effectively says, “Why are you people always complaining?” and within seconds it’s, “You f–ing Jewish c–t.”

‘I raise my voice as all witnesses say she shouted.

‘In regards to your crime scene, who is the first independent witness?’

‘The member of staff from the Northwestern help desk.’

‘You did not contact that woman did you,’ said Ms Judge.

Ward’s account is that she said to Mr Jacobs: ‘Don’t have a go at her, everyone’s delayed it’s not her fault.’

‘On your right hand you’ve got Jake Jacobs, helped by his brother and Sam Eisner saying she shouted you Jewish c–t,’ said Ms Judge.

‘And on your left hand you’ve got Dawn Ward saying don’t have a go at her.

‘That’s quite a big discrepancy isn’t it? That could have been helped by you speaking to that woman.’

Ms Judge also told the court about a discrepancy between the complainants’ statements and what they told officers on the day.

‘On any occasion you spoke with any witness, was there any reference to Hitler having been referred to?’ Ms Judge asked.

‘I don’t remember any reference to Hitler,’ replied PC Springhall.

‘So when you watched the body worn footage and heard the repeated allegation made by Jake Jacobs saying that she kept referring to Hitler when frankly that doesn’t appear in any prosecution witness statements, presumably that was another red flag for you?’

‘Yes.’

PC Springhall admitted failing to examine CCTV footage from Euston station outside the exact time of the incident.

Ms Judge suggested this was because he had not been given enough time to investigate properly.

She told the officer: ‘I want to make it quite clear in regards to my questioning. At the point of you being involved you were a trainee.

‘Do you not feel let down? You had two supervisors, have they been outside this courtroom? You’ve had zero support.

‘Do you feel you have been let down by the system in which you work on the basis of what you know now?’

PC Springhall replied: ‘Yeah a little bit.’

Ms Judge said Ward has been ‘entirely consistent’ with her explanations and told police she doesn’t need a solicitor because she has nothing to hide.

She was also taken into custody unnecessarily, Ms Judge said. She could have been allowed to go home as she cooperated in providing her contact details.

‘Instead, she was handcuffed, arrested unlawfully and carted off to Wembley. She made it quite clear she was claustrophobic and terrified of being put in a police cell.’

Footage of Ward at the police station was played to the jury showing the moment officers found a bag of cocaine in a cigarette packet in her handbag.

‘Look at her reaction,’ said Ms Judge. ‘She’s clearly distressed and asking where did you get that from?

‘Dawn Ward is making it clear that those drugs came into her handbag without her knowledge.’

Ms Ward told PC Springhall there were large omissions in the material he was supposed to send to the defence, such as an officer’s pocket notebook and CCTV footage.

On September 17, 2020, the cigarette packet and snap bag of cocaine was tested for fingerprints and it could not be linked with Ward.

The evidence was only submitted to the defence days before the trial started, said Ms Judge.

‘If someone tells you what to do, you do it with vigour,’ said Ms Judge.

‘But no one helped you, did they?’

‘No,’ replied PC Springhall.

‘If this were your mother being prosecuted, would you want her to be prosecuted with the evidence presented?’

‘No.’

Ward, of Warford Hall, Cheshire, wore a black suit and sat at the back of court next to her husband Ashley Ward, who played for Derby County and Barnsley in the Premier League in the 90s.

The celebrity interior designer denies two charges of racially and religiously aggravated harassment, causing alarm, or distress and possession of cocaine.

Warford Hall, her £14.5 million mansion in Alderley Edge was designed by W. Roberts, dates back to 1867 and is regularly featured on the show.

The trial continues tomorrow (tues).
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