Three men were unfairly jailed for their part in a pet-food-for-human-consumption racket between 1993-1996, according to their defence lawyers.
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The nationwide scam that involved five men, Nottinghamshire-based Andrew Boid and Darren Bibby, Peter Tantram of Ingham and Arnold Smith and John McGinty from South Yorkshire, selling condemned poultry meat for human consumption attracted widespread attention when it first went to court in September last year.
Due to evidence thrown up by an investigation by Rotherham environmental health officials and South Yorkshire police, the men were found guilty of heavily disguising condemned meat between 1993 and 1996 and selling in on to unknowing butchers, restaurants and retailers across the UK.
The lawyers have now taken the case to the Court of Appeal, maintaining that the trial was unfair because the jury was clouded in “confusion and bewilderment” while deliberating. The lawyers also argue that Judge Heppel, presiding over the case, entered into “forbidden territory.” In a bid to save the four-month trial from collapse, they argue that he unfairly inquired into the jurors’ problems and sent them back to resume deliberation on some charges on which they had already returned verdicts.
To read about the case in court, click here.
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By GlobalDataTo read about the poultry scam in the UK, click here.
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