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| Version 3 | Version 4 |
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| Royal blackmail pair are jailed | Royal blackmail pair are jailed |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Two men who demanded £50,000 from a Royal Family member in exchange for tapes featuring gay sex claims have been jailed for blackmail. | Two men who demanded £50,000 from a Royal Family member in exchange for tapes featuring gay sex claims have been jailed for blackmail. |
| Ian Strachan and Sean McGuigan were jailed for five years each for attempting to extort money from the unidentified royal. | Ian Strachan and Sean McGuigan were jailed for five years each for attempting to extort money from the unidentified royal. |
| His identity had been concealed during the two-and-a-half-week-long trial. | His identity had been concealed during the two-and-a-half-week-long trial. |
| Strachan, 31, and McGuigan, 41, both of London, had denied charges of demanding money with menaces. | Strachan, 31, and McGuigan, 41, both of London, had denied charges of demanding money with menaces. |
| Among the claims in the recordings were that the royal, referred to as witness A, performed a sex act on his employee, witness D, at a party. | |
| Strachan, who is originally from Aberdeen, in Scotland, and McGuigan had used the tapes to demand money from the royal after trying, unsuccessfully, to sell them to newspapers. | Strachan, who is originally from Aberdeen, in Scotland, and McGuigan had used the tapes to demand money from the royal after trying, unsuccessfully, to sell them to newspapers. |
| Prosecutions for blackmail are rare but it is a serious offence which can involve the victims making themselves vulnerable Mark Carroll, CPS How the blackmail plot unfolded | Prosecutions for blackmail are rare but it is a serious offence which can involve the victims making themselves vulnerable Mark Carroll, CPS How the blackmail plot unfolded |
| Mark Ellison QC, prosecuting, told the court that it had been a "classic example of blackmail". | Mark Ellison QC, prosecuting, told the court that it had been a "classic example of blackmail". |
| The two men were arrested in a sting operation at a London hotel by undercover police officers last September. | The two men were arrested in a sting operation at a London hotel by undercover police officers last September. |
| The Old Bailey heard that Strachan was a "Walter Mitty"-type fantasist who routinely claimed to be a friend of royals and lived an extravagant lifestyle. | The Old Bailey heard that Strachan was a "Walter Mitty"-type fantasist who routinely claimed to be a friend of royals and lived an extravagant lifestyle. |
| McGuigan, who is a recovering alcoholic, contacted A's representatives last July and was present as the tapes were played to an undercover officer, who posed as a royal aide, in a meeting shortly before the pair were arrested. | McGuigan, who is a recovering alcoholic, contacted A's representatives last July and was present as the tapes were played to an undercover officer, who posed as a royal aide, in a meeting shortly before the pair were arrested. |
| Following the guilty verdict, Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) reviewing lawyer Mark Carroll said: "Although they claimed to be acting in the interests of the victim, the jury rejected this story and agreed with the prosecution that they were simply interested in the money. | Following the guilty verdict, Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) reviewing lawyer Mark Carroll said: "Although they claimed to be acting in the interests of the victim, the jury rejected this story and agreed with the prosecution that they were simply interested in the money. |
| "Prosecutions for blackmail are rare but it is a serious offence which can involve the victims making themselves vulnerable in order that the case comes to trial." | "Prosecutions for blackmail are rare but it is a serious offence which can involve the victims making themselves vulnerable in order that the case comes to trial." |
| He added that the CPS "will not hesitate to prosecute blackmail cases and we will always seek to protect the anonymity of blackmail victims". | He added that the CPS "will not hesitate to prosecute blackmail cases and we will always seek to protect the anonymity of blackmail victims". |
| The trial is thought to have cost at least £1m. | The trial is thought to have cost at least £1m. |