the times | Tuesday May 24 2022 2GMV2 11
News
The model Kate Moss, who was in a re-
lationship with Johnny Depp for three
years, will give evidence tomorrow at
his libel trial against Amber Heard.
Moss, 48, who was mentioned by
Heard in her testimony, will appear via
video link at the trial in Virginia.
Discussing an incident in which
Depp is said to have attacked her sister,
Whitney Henriquez, on a staircase,
Heard said: “I just, in my head, instantly
think of Kate Moss and stairs.”
She was referring to a rumour sug-
gesting that Depp pushed Moss down a
flight of stairs during their relationship.
When Moss was named, Ben Chew,
Depp’s lawyer, pumped his fist in court.
Kate Moss to tell trial about life with Depp
Moss is expected to speak warmly of
her time with Depp, and contradict
Heard’s claim that he is a violent man.
The trial is approaching its final
stages and the court in Fairfax has
heard extensive allegations of domestic
abuse against both Depp and Heard.
The Pirates of the Caribbean star who
was once Hollywood’s best-paid actor
sued his former wife over a column in
The Washington Post in 2018 in which
she said she was “a public figure repre-
senting domestic abuse”.
Depp was not named in the article
but said that he had been defamed.
Heard has countersued for $100 million
and accused him of orchestrating a
smear campaign against her.
Yesterday an expert told the courtthat Heard lost between $45-50 million
as a result of claims she fabricated
abuse allegations against Depp. Kath-
ryn Arnold, an entertainment industry
consultant, said Heard’s career had
suffered as a result of comments made
by Adam Waldman, a lawyer for Depp.
In 2020 he accused her of carrying
out an “abuse hoax”. Arnold said Heard,
36, had since struggled to find work
with leading studios and continued to
face abuse online. “In the industry, they
like her work,” Arnold said. “But they
can’t work with her right now.”
Arnold said that she had compared
Heard’s career trajectory to other stars
who appeared in big superhero films,
including Jason Momoa, Gal Gadot
and Zendaya. Heard was paid $1 millionfor 2018’s Aquaman and $2 million for
the sequel scheduled for release next
year. Heard’s role in the sequel had been
significantly reduced, the court was
told, and she had to “fight” to stay in the
film.
Dr David Spiegel, a psychiatrist
introduced by Heard’s legal team, told
the court that he had seen videos of
Depp slamming cupboards, breaking
glass and shouting at Heard while
holding a glass of wine.
He said that alcohol and drug use,
which Depp, 58, has admitted, could
increase the risk of “intimate partner
violence”.
During heated exchanges with
Wayne Dennison, one of Depp’s law-
yers, Spiegel was asked about hisdescription of the actor as an “idiot” in
his written testimony. He said that if he
had used the term it was to criticise
Depp’s planning after the actor
allegedly decided to fly in to give
evidence the night before it was due.
Asked if “idiot” was a professional
term, Spiegel said: “I wasn’t rendering a
professional opinion.”
The psychiatrist had also questioned
Depp’s use of an earpiece while acting
and suggested that it may have indicat-
ed reduced cognitive function. He ad-
mitted “I know nothing about acting”
and when he was asked if he was aware
that Marlon Brando had used an ear-
piece responded: “Isn’t he dead?”
The jury could retire to consider its
verdict on Friday.Keiran Southern Los Angeles
A former Tory MP was jailed yesterday
for molesting a 15-year-old boy after a
judge condemned him for showing no
remorse despite his claims that he is
now teetotal and celibate.
Imran Ahmad Khan, former MP for
Wakefield, was sentenced to 18 months
after his victim told Southwark crown
court that he had suicidal thoughts,
disliked being touched and suffered
problems in relationships.
Khan, 48, tried to force the schoolboy
to drink gin and watch pornography
before dragging him upstairs and
throwing him on to a bed where the
victim’s parents had said their visitor
could sleep at their Staffordshire home
in January 2008.
After the boy fled to his own bed,
Khan repeatedly groped him as his 11-
year-old brother was in the bunk below.
The victim told the court as Khan
stared at him from the dock: “My men-
tal health has deteriorated rapidly since
David Brown
One of the country’s biggest account-
ants is to give staff unconscious bias
training, which tells people not to
discuss “exotic” skiing holidays, gap
years or private schooling.
KPMG’s 15,800 staff in Britain will be
told that sharing details about the
topics could isolate their colleagues
because these display socio-economic
class biases, according to City AM.
The training, which starts next
month, will also focus on biases over
sexual orientation, race, gender identity,
class and disability. Staff who do not
attend could lose their bonus or be
scrutinised more closely by managers.
Imran Ahmad Khan, who has a bone
disease, was sentenced to 18 months
deciding to come forward and having to
constantly relive an event I tried to bury
for such a long time. I have struggled
with the guilt of dragging my family
back into a horrible ordeal they would
rather forget and watch them struggle
with their own guilt for allowing that
man into the house.”
Mr Justice Baker told Khan: “You
have no remorse for your offending and
the only regret you feel is towards
yourself for having found yourself in
the predicament you face as a result of
your actions some 14 years ago.”
The victim’s family believed Khan
was a member of foreign royalty. In fact
the MP’s mother was an NHS nurse
and his father, a dermatologist, was the
son of a tribal chief in Pakistan.
Khan received character references
from several notable people, including
Richard Barrett, a former director of
global counterterrorism at MI6, who
also supported Khan’s application for
his name to remain secret.
The MP’s brother, Karim Ahmad
Khan, 52, is chief prosecutor of the
International Criminal Court. Crispin
Blunt, the Tory MP for Reigate and a
former justice minister, has said that
Khan did not have a “fair trial”.
Gudrun Young QC said in mitigation
that Khan, who has a degenerative
bone disease and is registered disabled,
was teetotal, celibate and “has become
something of a recluse”. She said he had
“spent his working life dedicated to
pursuing humanitarian causes”.
The victim’s family contacted police
after the attack but officers recorded
that the boy did not wish to pursue the
matter. He called Tory headquarters
three days before Khan’s election in- Khan has stood down as an MP. A
by-election is to be held on June 23.
Don’t discuss ski trips, staff told
Debbie White In February last year Bill Michael,
the company’s UK chairman, resigned
after a backlash over comments he
made to staff dismissing unconscious
bias and telling them to “stop moaning”
about working conditions during the
pandemic.
“I think unconscious bias is complete
crap, complete and utter crap for years,
it really is,” he said. “I don’t buy it —
because after every single unconscious
bias training that has ever been done,
nothing’s ever improved.”
Kevin Hogarth, chief people officer
at the company, said that the training
was “the right thing to do as building an
inclusive, diverse and equitable business
remains a key priority”.
Ex-Tory MP jailed for
sex assault on boy, 15
Chocolate, the
17th century’s
wonder cure
Katie GibbonsThe first English-language cookery
book on chocolate, which hails its
ability to treat “melancholy”, constipa-
tion and venereal diseases, is to be sold
at auction today.
The book, titled The Indian Nectar, or
a Discourse Concerning Chocolata, was
written by Henry Stubbes, Charles I’s
personal doctor, in 1662. It lists recipes
and their medicinal benefits based on
the writings of Spanish travellers who
had returned from South America.
According to one practitioner,
chocolate helped to keep his body
“soluble” and “never failed to give him
a stool”.
The book was kept at the Signet Lib-
rary in Edinburgh for decades and was
sold into private hands in the 1980s. It is
one of only a handful of copies in
existence and will be sold by Bearnes
Hampton and Littlewood in Exeter
with a guide price of £5,000.
There is evidence to suggest that
chocolate was consumed in the Amazon
as long as 5,000 years ago. It was intro-
duced to Europe by Spanish colonists in
the 1500s but only the most privileged
in British society were able to sample it,
with a pound of cocoa costing the
equivalent of £34 today. Chocolate in
the 17th century was also a far cry from
the confectionery of today. It was pre-
pared as a bitter drink and flavoured
with spices.
Roger Collicott, a specialist at the
auctioneers, said: “This book is incredi-
bly technical and detailed given how
early it is. It is about 200 years before its
time. Most cookery books started in
France. Finding one in English and
from this period is incredibly rare.”Dark visions Léa Seydoux, star of the science-fiction drama Crimes of the Future,
with its director, David Cronenberg, at a Cannes Film Festival screening yesterdaySCOTT GARFITT/BACKGRIDPet dogs guard
against Crohn’s
Children who grow up with pet dogs are
less likely to develop Crohn’s disease in
later life, according to a study by the
University of Toronto.
Exposure to dogs, particularly
between the ages of 5 and 15, ensured a
strong gut lining. Cats did not have the
same powers, with Dr Williams Turpin,
a senior author of the study, suggesting:
“It could be because dog owners get
outside more often with their pets.”
The researchers surveyed the fami-
lies of about 4,300 people with the
inflammatory bowel syndrome.
Testing owners for competence would
reduce dog attacks, Thunderer, page 26