Accused gave graft proof against police

London: One of the men facing Britain's first criminal trial without a jury gave evidence against the police during a notorious corruption enquiry in the 1980s.

In a historic judgment on Thursday, the court of appeal allowed John Twomey's forthcoming trial for a £1.75-million (Dh10.5 million) armed raid at a warehouse at Heathrow to be heard by a single judge because of "very significant" danger of jury tampering.

The trial will be the first crown court case in England and Wales to be heard by a lone judge since new legislation came into force in 2003.

Twomey, who with three others is charged with possession of a firearm, robbery and conspiracy to rob, believes he is the victim of a "real stitch-up" and his lawyers believe the decision has been made on the basis of "police whispers" in the ear of the court. "The ruling has been made on the basis of secret material which we have never seen, presented by witnesses whose identity other than their rank in the Metropolitan police has not been disclosed to us," his solicitors said.

Twomey faced three earlier trials. At the first, in 2005, he suffered a heart attack and was severed from the indictment. His six co-defendants were acquitted.

The jury failed to reach a verdict in the second. The third was halted by the judge when the prosecution alleged the jury had been tampered with. Seeking a fourth trial without a jury, police presented evidence in secret under public interest immunity to a judge.