Daily Mail, Thursday, March 5, 2020^ Page 35
Blind lord ‘groped hotel
masseuse and asked if
she performed extras’
A BLIND Paralympic swim-
ming champion and peer
grabbed a masseuse’s bot-
tom and asked if she ‘did
extras’ at a top hotel, a
court heard yesterday.
Christopher Holmes of Rich-
mond, 48, is accused of sexu-
ally assaulting the beauty
therapist, groping her and ask-
ing to touch her breasts during
a 90-minute treatment at a
London hotel spa.
The nine-time gold medallist,
who was one of Britain’s most
successful Paralympians, denies
sexual touching. He claims he
only ran his hands down her body
to find out what she looked like.
The peer, who joined the House
of Lords in 2013 after working for
the London 2012 Olympic and
Paralympic Games, told police: ‘It
is always difficult to ask to touch
sighted people, but it is a basic
human instinct to want to know
what somebody looks like.’
Southwark Crown Court heard
that the masseuse was nearingthe end of an £150 treatment on
March 7 last year when Holmes
manoeuvred her between his
legs and asked: ‘Can I see how
you look?’
The woman agreed, ‘thinking
that this was what blind people
do’, but tried to pull away after
Holmes ran his hands over herface, shoulders and sides , resting
his hands around her hips, jurors
heard. Prosecutor Linda Strud-
wick said: ‘Mr Holmes stopped
her by grabbing her buttocks. He
said “nice” and he asked if he
could touch her breasts.
‘He asked if she “did extras”,
pointing to his crotch.’ The court
heard that Holmes had already
removed the paper underwear he
had been asked to wear.
The prosecutor said: ‘This was a
deliberate sexual assault, or sex-my shoulders and then grabbed
my bum and squeezed it. I felt
confused. I felt ashamed.
‘He asked if he could touch my
boobs. I said this is making me
uncomfortable and then he put
his hands towards his crotch and
asked if I do extra. I said, ‘‘no I’m
a professional’’.’
The masseuse claimed she
quickly finished the treatment
but didn’t run out as she feared
his guide dog might attack her. ‘I
panicked as he is blind.’ She
i n f o r m e d h e r m a n a g e r, w h o
described her as ‘shaking’ and
went to the police the next day.
The peer, who has campaigned
for better access for the disabled
in public places, insists the touch-
ing was innocent. He told police:
‘It is a bit strange to be massaged
by someone without knowing
what they look like.
‘I cannot be sure exactly where
my hands rested but there was
a b s o l u t e l y n o i n t e n t i o n t o
touch her in a sexual way. At no
time did I touch her breasts or
genital area.’
He denied asking for ‘extras’,
adding: ‘I did not ask my thera-
pist for sexual services of any
kind.’ The trial continues.‘He grabbed my bum
... I felt ashamed’Denies claims: Lord Holmes
Price-fixing
drugs firms
fined £3.4m
FOUR drugs firms have been fined
for illegally increasing the price
of antidepressants.
The companies have been told
to pay fines totalling £3.4million
for price fixing – and £1million in
compensation to the NHS.
King Pharmaceuticals and
Auden Mckenzie colluded to fix
q u a n t i t i e s a n d p r i c e s f o r
nortriptyline, the Competition
and Markets Authority said.
Two other firms – Lexon and
Alissa Healthcare Research –
were fined for illegally sharing
information to tr y to keep
nortriptyline prices up.
Nortriptyline is prescribed by
the NHS and is used to relieve the
symptoms of depression.‘The depression started
when the price of
anti-depressants soared ’
By Rebecca Camber
Chief Crime Correspondentual touching. He knew that the
sighted are often embarrassed
around blind people and he used
that.’ Yesterday the masseuse
wept as she gave evidence behind
a screen. She recalled: ‘His legs
were around my body either side.
I was in the middle.
‘I thought that he wanted to
just touch my face or something.
I thought blind people do that. I
was feeling very uncomfortable so
I was moving my body away.
‘He was touching my face and