Trial collapse costs Tory peer a few quid

A Tory Peer accused of groping a masseuse’s bottom is ‘down many tens of thousands of pounds’ after his first trial was halted, a court heard. Lord Christopher Holmes of Richmond MBE, 48, allegedly grabbed the woman’s buttocks at a five star hotel spa on 7 March last year. The politician, who is blind and a nine-time Paralympic swimming champion, denies sexual assault. His trial was aborted at Southwark Crown Court in March after prosecutor Linda Strudwick became too ill…