The Sunday Times November 28, 2021 25
of Maxwell’s defence lawyers. Everdell
added: “This testimony does not show
Epstein’s ‘sexual preference’ for under-
age girls or Ms Maxwell’s knowledge of
that alleged preference.
“While some may find this morally
reprehensible, or even repugnant, it is
perfectly legal.”
She is a scapegoat for Epstein
Maxwell’s siblings insist that the Oxford
graduate is being prosecuted as a proxy
or “scapegoat” for Epstein after the US
authorities failed to prevent his death in
custody and to bring him to justice.
This argument is likely to play out
heavily in court, with Maxwell’s lawyers
emphasising to the jury that their client
was not charged in two previous indict-
ments against her former boyfriend.
The first of those indictments resulted
in Epstein cutting a plea deal under
which he was jailed for only 18 months in
2008 for procuring a child for prostitu-
tion in Florida.
By the time of his suicide in August
2019, aged 66, the tycoon was facing far
more serious child sex trafficking char-
ges.
Maxwell was arrested almost a year
later after prosecutors vowed to go after
Epstein’s co-conspirators.
She has been denied bail repeatedly
despite pledging a bond worth $28.5 mil-
lion because she is perceived to be a flight
risk.
Maxwell’s brother, Ian, believes that
the authorities are determined to make
an example of her and “have thrown in
everything but the proverbial kitchen
sink” to convict her.
“The charges she currently faces were
brought in an attempt to save face and
give the baying crowd a scalp deflecting
A villain
who
slithers
away
children. His first children’s
book, published in 1997, was
entitled The Day I Swapped
My Dad for Two Goldfish.
He says the inspiration for
the story came from his son
Michael, then aged 4 or 5,
who responded to bedtime
instructions from his father:
“I wish I didn’t have a dad. I
wish I had goldfish.” Gaiman
said: “Then he stumped off,
and I thought: ‘That was
brilliant’.”couldn’t switch off [my
imagination], and I thought of
that as my great weakness. I
did not realise that one day
I’d grow up and that would be
my superpower.”
As a schoolboy, Gaiman,
now 61, was so obsessed with
reading, he said he had to be
“frisked for books” before
family gatherings.
He attributes his literary
stardom at least in part to
ideas he “stole” from his fourParents should not be too
worried if their children go to
bed frightened that monsters
may be lurking nearby,
according to the prize-
winning author Neil Gaiman.
Such terrors mean their
children may have the kind of
hyperactive imagination that
turns them into highly
creative adults.
As a child, Gaiman waseasily frightened by “the
dark, shadows, witches,
anything that really did exist
and anything that didn’t. I
used to genuinely envy kids
who didn’t have
imaginations, who weren’t
populating the shadows with
things.” The author of the
comic book series The
Sandman and the bestselling
children’s novella Coraline
tells BBC Radio 4’s Desert
Island Discs today: “I knew ITony Allen-MillsAnnie Farmer,
one of Maxwell’s
accusers, waived
her right to
anonymity. She
had previously
sued for
“punitive
damages” over
alleged abuse at
Epstein’s ranch in
New Mexico
when she was 16Upmarket lorry park offers gym,
silence and a taste of Teesside
truckers. Recovering from
such a low ebb will not be
easy. Rishi Sunak, the
chancellor, announced
£32.5 million for roadside
facilities in the budget after it
emerged that the country has
a shortage of 1,400 parking
spaces for trucks.
Smith says he turns away
100 truckers a day from
another lorry park in
Ashford, with most having no
option but to spend the night
by the side of the road. “If
you’re stuck in a lay-by, you
can hear traffic through the
night, you can’t rest properly,
and there’s no security,” he
said. Figures show 88 per
cent of HGV drivers are UK
citizens, with 10 per cent
from the European Union. At
Ashford the proportions are
roughly reversed, with only
15 to 20 per cent from Britain.
Signs are translated into
French, Polish, Czech,
Romanian, Hungarian and
Lithuanian. The chef will
offer international variations
on a signature dish, parmo,
or Teesside Parmesan, a fast-
food favourite from
Middlesbrough containing
breaded chicken and cheese,
typically served with chips
and garlic sauce.
Smith avoids any promises
of no repeat of last year’s
debacle. “I think that’s a
question for the French
president.”
@NicholasHellenpast five years, with a fall of
4,000 drivers, or 7 per cent,
among the under-35s.
The industry is still trying
to live down the humiliation
of last Christmas when
10,000 drivers were trapped
in a tailback of 30 miles in
Kent after President Macron
closed the French border,
citing fears of a fast-spreading
coronavirus variant. For
Smith, who is operations
director at Ashford
International Truckstop, it is
a personal reminder of the
scale of the problem. Last
Christmas Eve his firm
donated 1,000 food parcels of
sandwiches, apples, crisps
and drinks to the strandedcareful this truck stop is not
the only new one, with
everywhere else continuing
much as they are, with
possibly an extra Portaloo.
McKenzie added: “Across
Britain there is a problem
with roadside facilities and
yet our drivers get what they
need in every other country
in Europe. Younger people
have a much higher
expectation of workplace
facilities and one of the things
which puts them off is when
they ask, ‘Where do I sleep at
night? Where’s the loo?’”
Official figures show the
biggest drop of 34,000
drivers — or 29 per cent — in
the 45-55 age group in theDarren Smith looks forward
to showing off his swish new
lorry park in Kent, the first or
last stop for many drivers
entering or leaving the UK, at
its official opening this week.
“You will not find another
truck stop to this standard,”
he boasts, as he gushes about
the gym, the games room and
the fresh ingredients on the
restaurant menu. “It will
blow them out of the water.”
The roads minister,
Baroness Vere of Norbiton,
and senior managers from
other truck stops will join him
on Friday at Ashford
International Truckstop, 13
miles from the entrance to
the Eurotunnel terminal. It
has 650 spaces and claims to
be the largest in Europe.
As hauliers say that
pressures in the supply chain
threaten a reduced choice in
supermarkets this Christmas,
much is riding on its success
and the hope that better
truck stops will help to solve a
shortage of HGV drivers.
Rod McKenzie, managing
director of policy and public
affairs at the Road Haulage
Association, said: “We must
find around 80,000 new
drivers and it is essential for
us to create an image of a
British truck driver that is
appealing to a new
generation. We need to beNicholas Hellen
Transport EditorTruckers can enjoy a games room and a deep-fried parmofrom the authorities’ own incompetence
in allowing Epstein to die on their watch.”It is impossible to have a fair trial
Lawyers will claim that even before the
ink had dried on the charge sheet, investi-
gators had decided that Maxwell was
guilty.
In a press conference in July 2020,
soon after Maxwell’s arrest, William
Sweeney, the FBI’s assistant director for
New York, described her as “a villain”
who had “slithered away” into hiding
after Epstein’s death.
Such language, and the damning
media coverage that followed, will make
it almost impossible for Maxwell to
receive a fair trial, her supporters argue.
They have even fretted over whether
her wealthy background will count
against her.
Maxwell’s father, Robert, the publish-
ing tycoon and former owner of the Daily
Mirror, died in 1991 after falling off the
Lady Ghislaine, a superyacht named
after his daughter.
Jurors in her trial were asked before
selection if they held strong views about
people with “luxurious lifestyles” or had
expressed support in the past for the
#MeToo movement.
In her instructions to the jury tomor-
row Judge Nathan will warn jurors to stay
away from social media and disregard
what they have read in the press so far.
“This case has received, and will con-
tinue to receive, significant attention in
the media,” she is to say.
“There is no formula to evaluate testi-
mony or exhibits. For now, suffice it to
say that you bring with you into this
courtroom all of the experience and
background of your lives. Do not leave
your common sense outside.”bathroom so she could
shower.
To find myself listening to
Mo Farah, one of this
country’s greatest
Olympians, describe leaving
Somalia and arriving in the
UK as a boy unable to speak
any English, was a privilege.
It was joyful too to sit round a
campfire while West End star
Ruthie Henshall entertained
us by performing All That Jazz
from Chicago. Having bonded
with 11 strangers and
experienced the highs and
lows of primitive living, I
wanted to do my best forthem. There was never
enough food but the camp is
given a daily portion of rice
and beans, which we always
divided into three —
breakfast, lunch and dinner —
just in case we didn’t win
stars during the evening trial.
We ate pigeon, eel and
squirrel, which was
surprisingly edible, chopped
up and fried in oil. Yes, it does
taste a bit like chicken.
Yet watching this year’s
cast, one or two seem to be
struggling. They’ve
complained about who’s
chef, the way the rice is
cooked and, sometimes, each
other. That feels like a
contrast to us, a bunch of
people who were never in
competition with each other.
Maybe because of that, the
producers this time decided
to split the camp into two at
the start, with half in the
main castle and half in the
basic Clink. That divide left
Arlene Phillips, the former
Strictly Come Dancing judge,
feeling “humiliated”, record
producer Naughty Boy on the
verge of quitting and even
footballer David Ginola’s
sang-froid was tested. We
didn’t have Storm Arwen to
contend with either.
I never felt down in the
castle. I could cope with the
cold , the trials, the basic loo,
the frugal living and no access
to our phones or the news. I
embraced it all and the
company of my campmates
was magnificent. Of course, I
missed my husband and
teenage boys and shed tears
when I was given my luxury
item — a photo of the three of
them — but I knew they were
watching me each night and
supporting me. And I just had
to remember why I was doing
it — after getting through
breast cancer six years ago, I
made a decision that I want
once-in-a-lifetime
experiences.
Ruthie Henshall described
it as “the best pyjama party of
her life”. She’s right, we had a
blast, we’ve become close
friends, and when this year’s
campmates settle down, I
reckon they’ll feel the same
too. What a shame Madeley
will miss out.I loved my Celebrity misery —
Richard Madeley’s missing out
Judging by his energetic
television presenting style,
Richard Madeley doesn’t
strike me as a quitter yet he
left I’m a Celebrity last week
after being taken to hospital
in the early hours. Having
broken the Covid bubble with
his campmates, he wasn’t
allowed back into the castle in
north Wales.
I was on I’m a Celeb last
year and know ITV takes its
duty of care to the cast
seriously, and people do
become ill or need treatment.
Last year a member of our
camp, Shane Richie, the ex-
EastEnders actor, had
stomach cramps and
diarrhoea and was given dry
toast and paracetamol. Two
others suffered dozens of
cockroach bites and were
given E45 cream. The singer
Russell Watson chipped a
tooth but had to make do.
Our issues were relatively
minor; a hospital visit
suggests something more
significant. Hours before
falling ill Madeley, 65, had
completed a trial which
involved diving down a chute
head first as gallons of rotting
fruit, offal and cockroaches
were dumped on him.
Desperately delving his hands
into the freezing cold mulch
he hunted for the ten stars
that would guarantee a meal
for him and the rest of the
cast. He won four and
secured squirrel for dinner.
Social media was full of
people questioning whether
the trials have become too
“extreme”.
They are supposed to be
arduous and anyone going
into the show knows that.
Last year, in that same
freezing Welsh castle, I took
part in a challenge called
Barbaric. Pigs trotters, animal
blood and fish guts were
dropped on us for up to 12
minutes while we tried to find
keys in the entrails to unlock
padlocks on a chain we were
secured by, before having tostick our hands in glass boxes
containing tarantulas, toads
or rats. By the end of it, my
body was freezing, the whole
experience was gross and I
stank.
Yet it’s incredible what you
can make yourself do when
you have the responsibility of
winning food to feed hungry
friends. They’re new friends,
too, so you definitely don’t
want to let them down. I’d
watched Beverley Callard
play Liz McDonald on
Coronation Street for years; it
was surreal to be pumping
the water for her in theVICTORIA
DERBYSHIRE RERichard Madeley left the show after falling ill but Victoria
Derbyshire says she embraced all the challengesITV/SHUTTERSTOCKBeing scared of monsters is OK, says author