In 2010, Tom Crone organised surveillance of Mark Lewis and Charlotte Harris, two solicitors engaged in litigation against the tabloid for phone hacking, in order to uncover evidence of an alleged affair.

Question of intent

The case brought by the Bar Standards Board was that Crone’s purpose was to smear, embarrass and threaten them in order to gain an unfair advantage in legal proceedings. Crone claimed that his intention was to gather evidence to report them to the Solicitors Regulation Authority, as had they been having an affair it would have provided circumstantial evidence that they were passing confidential information between one another and thus were in breach of professional standards.

‘Beyond reasonable doubt’

A Bar Tribunals and Adjudication Service panel considered Crone’s intent in a tribunal where the standard of proof is the criminal standard of ‘beyond reasonable doubt.’ It unanimously rejected all charges against Crone, with the judge, John Price, commenting: ‘Our unanimous conclusion … is we are not sure that Mr Crone’s intention was to force Lewis and Harris to withdraw their claim or to settle more favourably.’

Family under surveillance

The panel also rejected charges against Crone relating to the surveillance of Lewis’ former wife and teenage daughter, determining that he had not authorised or caused the surveillance and could not have reasonably expected that the private investigator would go to their home.

Sources: The Guardian; Australasian Lawyer