Judge cleared of flashing after bungled police inquiry

Sir Stephen Richards said he was "delighted" after he was found not guilty of two counts of indecent exposure towards a young woman on a train.

During a two- day trial at City of Westminster Magistrates' Court, the 56-year-old, who sits in the Court of Appeal as Lord Justice Richards, had to hold up a pair of Calvin Klein briefs to demonstrate the type of underwear he normally wore.

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He was also asked to describe his sexual relationship with his wife of 31 years, Lucy.

Dismissing the charges against him, Chief Magistrate Timothy Workman, sitting with two lay magistrates, insisted the woman, a City worker in her 20s, had given "clear, dignified and truthful" evidence.

But he said it was impossible to be sure that Sir Stephen was the same man who exposed himself to her twice on her way to work.

Transport police had failed to investigate the allegation promptly and thoroughly, he said, which meant there was no CCTV evidence to support the case.

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"It is the defendant's case that he has been wrongly identified as the person who is said to have exposed himself to the complainant on 16 and 24 October," Mr Workman told the court.

"He is in no position to say whether this was an honest mistake or whether this was a malicious or false allegation.

"We are satisfied that the complainant is an honest and truthful witness giving accurate evidence of the indecent exposure to which she was subjected.

"Sadly, the British Transport Police failed to promptly investigate the allegation or to investigate it thoroughly.

"Had they done so, they would have been able to obtain closed- circuit television from the train on 24 October and probably on 16 October.

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"That evidence may well have supported her identification and equally, may have exonerated Sir Stephen. There was no supporting evidence obtained during the investigation."

Outside court before being whisked away in a taxi, Sir Stephen said: "Throughout this case I have put my trust in the legal profession and I am delighted that it has enabled me to clear my name.

"I want to thank my excellent legal team for all their hard work and Lucy and I would like to express our deep gratitude to our family and friends for their kindness and support over the last few months.

"We now look forward to getting back to our normal life and in my case, getting back to my full judicial duties."

Sir Stephen, of Wimbledon, has overseen a number of high-profile hearings. In January, he ruled in a

High Court case brought by the family of Jean Charles de Menezes, the Brazilian shot dead by police who mistook him for a suicide bomber.

Sitting with Mr Justice Roberts, he said the Crown Prosecution Service's decision not to charge individual officers in connection with his death could be referred to the House of Lords.

Sir Stephen was accused of boxing the young woman commuter into a corner and flashing at her on two occasions during her journey to work from Raynes Park, South-West London, to Waterloo last year.

The second time, she took photographs of the man and followed him along Waterloo Bridge and towards the Strand, but lost him as he was walking "towards the Courts of Justice area".

In December, she saw him again and and in January, she pointed out the man she believed to be the offender during an undercover police operation.

She later picked out Sir Stephen in a video ID parade but this evidence was dismissed because by this time she already knew the man arrested was a senior judge and had seen pictures of him.

A spokesman for the British Transport Police said yesterday: "We take seriously any allegations made in relation to offences of a sexual or indecent nature.

"While this case has attracted a great deal of publicity, BTP has treated this case as it would any case of a similar nature, no matter who the defendant.

"The victim in this case has been very courageous throughout this matter, particularly given the considerable publicity such a high-profile case has resulted in."