Fake Sheikh Back In Court

Events may not have moved very far at the CPS as regards the decision to charge Mazher Mahmood, aka the Fake Sheikh, but the Court of Appeal is about to hear the case of one Alex Smith, former professional prankster, who was, it seems, set up by Mahmood back in 1998 over a counterfeit money sting. Smith thought he was playing a prank on Mahmood, only to find himself on the front page of the now-defunct Screws soon afterwards.

He later changed his plea to guilty, partly because of Mahmood’s ability to hide behind journalistic privilege, and a third party whom he had previously befriended turning out to be one of Mahmood’s accomplices. Smith was given a custodial sentence. But the bad news for the Fake Sheikh is that there are five other appeals that may get bundled in with Smith’s, one of which is that of actor John Alford.

Alford was effectively ruined after Maz stung him over a drug deal which the actor had been induced into making. The Fake Sheikh was seen laughing at the prospect of his target being ruined in a video shown as part of John Sweeney’s Panorama investigation which the Murdoch empire’s lawyers did their best to keep off the screens. The reason for asking for all six cases to be heard together is straightforward.

As the papers to be laid before the court tell, there are “serious concerns over the safety of those convictions … The common thread to all matters is the integrity of Mazher Mahmood … who was the sole progenitor in all of the cases. In January 2015, the CPS sent ‘Disclosure Packs’ to 25 defendants who had either pleaded guilty or who had been convicted as a result of evidence provided by Mazher Mahmood”.

There was more: “In nearly all cases, complaint was made about the methods employed by him in the obtaining of ‘evidence’, the veracity of that evidence, the disclosure regime that he operated in, as well as his hiding of ‘sources’ from the court, Police, and the defence via journalistic privilege. There is now a suggestion that he has been involved in, and with associations, whose activity can be properly described as criminal”.

And here was the pièce de résistance: “Furthermore … it is submitted that on the face of it, not only has [Mahmood] lied in a staccato fashion to a number of courts over the years, it is clear that he misled the Leveson Inquiry”. So who else is in the frame for appealing their conviction? To no surprise at all, former boxer Herbie Hide’s name is there. Hide also featured in the Panorama exposé of Mahmood’s methods.

The submission, indeed, refers to the Panorama film, the attempt to block its screening, and, to no surprise at all, Judge McCreath and the Tulisa Contostavlos case. It covers the match-fixing case against several footballers, which has also recently been thrown out. It notes that Mahmood continues to have all his legal fees paid by the Murdoch press. And the observations include Maz’ claim to have bent Police officers on his side.

All of which suggests that the Fake Sheikh, his lawyers, and eventually the press, when they all decide to wake up and smell the coffee, may be gainfully employed with this one for a while yet. We will be having another look at proceedings later.