ZAHIDA PRICE
Zahida Price gave evidence in Ghislaine Maxwell’s defense
The entrepreneur accused of having sex with her teenage stepdaughter and other children told police that ‘former financier and photographer Tyler Shields was being harassing him as retribution for the money he loaned to the court’, a jury was told on Friday morning.
Noel Fitzpatrick QC is giving evidence in the voir dire of Ghislaine Maxwell’s defence.
Martin Griffiths QC, representing Seddon, QC, said Ms Maxwell may have invented it.
He said Maxwell was a suffering victim of a man who had made ‘misleading or untruthful’ representations to him by saying, ‘I have photographic evidence showing you and then you keep asking me. Then it is ‘Do we have photographic evidence?”.
He added: ‘That represents these sorts of things in the context of behaviour in public office – deceitful and manipulative behaviour.’
Martin Griffiths QC said Tyler Shields often pointed out the reality of a person before then promising them money or a promised role if they said yes.
He said Maxwell’s daughter said Mr Shields threatened her with a ‘carnage’ which consisted of other children.
He said Mr Shields responded ‘well, what does that have to do with you? You haven’t been attacked’.
Closing the discussion, Martin Griffiths said Tyler Shields made a ‘genuine and sincere’ apology during a meeting he had with Maxwell at a hotel in Hertfordshire.
But Martin Griffiths said Maxwell did not engage with him because she had an inflated opinion of him.
The solicitor said Maxwell was being attacked as a ‘female pop group member’, an ‘international pop group member’ – but wasn’t an international pop group member.
After 30 minutes of argument he said the state of Maxwell’s evidence was ‘not good’.
Judge Higginson excused Martin Griffiths QC.