Millionaire not guilty of dangerous drive and assault on police officer
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Version 0 of 1. A millionaire philanthropist has been cleared of dangerous driving and assault on a police officer. Sir Harry Djanogly, 77, was accused of driving off as a police officer clung to the steering wheel of his Jaguar XK sports car on the A40 near Acton, west London, on 27 December 2014. The textile manufacturer, from Angel Court, off Pall Mall, London, denied the charges. The jury took five and a half hours to return not guilty verdicts on both counts. Jurors accepted his evidence that he did not deliberately accelerate as Sgt Robert McDonald held on to the car door. Djanogly was allegedly clocked driving at around 70mph in a 50mph zone at around 9pm. During the trial at Isleworth crown court, the jury heard McDonald was injured after approaching the car when it was stopped at a red light. He suffered knee injuries as he clung to the car when it moved forward along the dual carriageway. During his evidence, Djanogly did not deny speeding but said his driving had not been dangerous. He also apologised to the officer, saying he did not intend to hurt him and did not press on the accelerator to cause the Jaguar to move. He said he had been taking his wife of 52 years, Lady Carol Djanogly, to St John and St Elizabeth private hospital as he “honestly believed that her life was in danger”. He fought back tears as he described how health problems, including emphysema and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, had meant she had been in and out of hospital and intensive care units for the previous five years. Djanogly is thought to have a personal fortune of an estimated £300m and, together with his wife, has helped the V&A, Tate and the Chickenshed theatre company. Their son, Jonathan Djanogly, 50, is the Conservative MP for Huntingdon. |