A businessman who ‘tried to scare lawyers working for the National Crime Agency (NCA) by planting explosives outside chamber’ in an alleged bomb plot has described how he spent most of a £2.4million lottery win on his brother.
Jonathan Nuttall told the Old Bailey he faced losing his family home, Embley Manor in Romsey, Hampshire, to pay off a £1.4 million legal settlement after his wife Amanda won £2.4 million on the lottery.
The 50-year-old is accused of conspiring to plant two devices in Gray’s Inn in London over a financial wrangle with the NCA.
He is alleged to have hired former Royal Marine Michael Broddle, 46, to plant two packages resembling explosive devices at the chambers in central London.
Jurors were told that Nuttall recruited Broddle through his driver, and that Broddle spied on lawyers Andrew Sutcliffe, KC, and Anne Jeavons, who had both acted for the NCA in the recovery of £1 million of assets from Nuttall’s wife in 2019, for six months.
Jonathan Nuttall, 50, is accused of conspiring to plant two devices in Gray’s Inn in London over a financial wrangle with the National Crime Agency (NCA)
Broddle and his associates allegedly set off smoke grenades to cause maximum alarm causing buildings to be evacuated, roads cordoned off and 85 police officers to attend the scene.
Broddle has admitted two counts of placing an article with intention of inducing a belief it would explode or ignite and possession of an explosive substance.
Nuttall told jurors that while his wife’s lottery win was ‘extraordinarily good fortune’, ‘regrettably’ most of the funds went to pay off his brother Philip’s debts.
‘We didn’t play the lottery and it was the very first time,’ he told the court. ‘Amanda’s grandfather suggested she buy a ticket and we were very fortunate to win.
‘Regrettably in hindsight we used the vast majority of it to pay off my brother’s debt.
‘We used some to pay off Embley Manor and gave some to family and friends.’
When asked by defence barrister George Carter-Stephenson KC why he had done that, he said: ‘He’s my brother’.
The jury heard that Nuttall had started his oil storage business from his bedroom, before later expanding the business into offices in Piccadilly, central London.
Nuttall told the court that in 1999, he invited his brother Philip to return to the UK from Australia to become part of the business. But, his brother had a gambling habit and was in debt, which he later became aware of.
Jurors were told that Nuttall recruited Broddle through his driver, and that Broddle spied on lawyers Andrew Sutcliffe, KC, and Anne Jeavons, who had both acted for the NCA in the recovery of £1 million of assets from Nuttall’s wife in 2019, for six months
‘I wrote to him’, Nuttall said. ‘It took about 10 days for my letter to arrive and I was very surprised at the speed he responded. With hindsight I should have realised he answered too quickly.’
He added that he assumed his brother’s gambling habit was to do with his love of horse racing and said he only found out about it ‘after everyone else’.
‘I did not realise it was a problem until a considerable time later’, he added.
He said his brother returned to the UK within two weeks and the pair began to work together on ‘equal footing’.
But, he claimed that money began to disappear from the company’s bank account, and creditors visited the offices in London.
Nuttall claimed his brother stopped opening his post as he was in denial about the debt, which resulted in his company missing a demand for a bond to be paid to HMRC after his business was reclassified as high risk.
As a result, Nuttall was handed down a 12 month conditional discharge order.
Nuttall said that he and his family sought to remove Philip from the company’s board due to his being disruptive, which was successful at the High Court.
Michael Broddle’s son, Charlie Broddle denies possession of an explosive substance
Joshua Broddle, denies two counts of conspiring with Michael Broddle to place an article with intent on or before September 14, 2021
However, Nuttall claims that his brother then blackmailed him, asking to be paid a large sum of money and threatening to ‘spend the rest of his life seeking to destroy the whole family’ if the payment was not made.
‘His behaviour seemed unfathomable to me, but I didn’t understand at the time the extent of his problems which were underpinning it,’ he told the court.
The court heard that Nuttall had received a series of financial orders from the NCA from 2011. He described a search and seizure warrant that was issued in 2015, resulting in the NCA arriving ‘very loudly at our front door’.
He also received a freezing order which had a ‘catastrophic’ impact on finances, impacting the mortgage on his family home and family members’ bank accounts.
‘The NCA made contact with all our banks and our bank accounts started to close’, he told the court. ‘Our children’s bank accounts started to close even though we had never used them.
‘My daughter had just started at university and suddenly she had no access to money, all our accounts just disappeared overnight.’
Nuttall said he was also accused of plotting to sell his hotel, the White Horse in Romsey, which he purchased in 2006.
‘It had been a former coaching inn’, he said. ‘It had become almost derelict and their were plans afoot to turn it into flats, offices or I believe a Pizza Express.
Nuttall’s evidence is being heard in front of a jury in the Old Bailey, London (pictured)
‘We set about restoring the hotel, effectively rebuilding it within the Grade II listed shell.
‘Before the NCA action it was a flourishing hotel running high occupancy with extremely good reviews, a very high AA rating and rosettes for the restaurant.’
He claimed he had attempted to refinance the hotel because of the disruption caused to his finances by the NCA action.
‘I could never understand the allegations that were made’, he said. ‘When I first saw them they mirrored my brother’s allegations. It was as if my brother had written the allegations.’
Nuttall said he was prepared to go to trial but his solicitor told him if they lost they would be liable to pay the £1.6 million that the NCA had already spent in solicitor’s fees, so they settled for £1 million.
The prosecution allege that Nuttall targeted the lawyers acting for the NCA, Mr Sutcliffe and Ms Jeavons, when he allegedly recruited Broddle, but Nuttall has denied this in his evidence.
Nuttall, his driver Michael Sode, 58, along with Michael Broddle’s sons Joshua Broddle, 20, and Charlie Broddle, 18, all deny two counts of conspiring with Michael Broddle to place an article with intent on or before September 14, 2021.
Nuttall, Sode, Michael Broddle, Joshua Broddle and George Gray, 25, of Hounslow, deny conspiring to transfer criminal property.
Charlie Broddle denies possession of an explosive substance.
Nuttall denies six counts of failing to comply with a notice by failing to disclose the PIN or passcode of phones and devices. Sode denies two counts of the same charge.
Nuttall’s evidence continues.
DailyMail
