TV
Two charges of indecent assault against TV presenter John Leslie have been dropped this morning.
In an emotionally-charged statement outside Southwark Crown Court in London, Leslie said he "had been to hell and back" since the allegations first came to light.
The charges were dropped after prosecutor Richard Howell said that they had "come into possession of further material that has led to the charges against the defendant being reviewed".
Leslie's rough ride began in October last year when Ulrika Jonsson claimed in her autobiography that she had been sexually assualted by a "well-known television presenter" some years earlier - but refused to identify the man.
A week of public speculation on who the presenter was ended when Channel 5 journalist Matthew Wright "accidentally" named Leslie during an edition of his morning talk show.
Since then several more women came forward to claim that they had been assaulted by the star. Today's ruling has cleared him of the charges, however; a result he said he always knew would be attained.
"We always believed that justice would prevail and that the truth would out," said Leslie, fighting back tears. "I said I would clear my name through the due legal process and today I have."
It is thought that Leslie has already sold his story to a national newspaper.
In an emotionally-charged statement outside Southwark Crown Court in London, Leslie said he "had been to hell and back" since the allegations first came to light.
The charges were dropped after prosecutor Richard Howell said that they had "come into possession of further material that has led to the charges against the defendant being reviewed".
Leslie's rough ride began in October last year when Ulrika Jonsson claimed in her autobiography that she had been sexually assualted by a "well-known television presenter" some years earlier - but refused to identify the man.
A week of public speculation on who the presenter was ended when Channel 5 journalist Matthew Wright "accidentally" named Leslie during an edition of his morning talk show.
Since then several more women came forward to claim that they had been assaulted by the star. Today's ruling has cleared him of the charges, however; a result he said he always knew would be attained.
"We always believed that justice would prevail and that the truth would out," said Leslie, fighting back tears. "I said I would clear my name through the due legal process and today I have."
It is thought that Leslie has already sold his story to a national newspaper.
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