The
Old Bailey trial of two men accused of blackmailing a junior royal has heard
how no fewer than thirty members of Britain's anti-terror police unit were involved
in a sting operation which resulted in the arrest of the alleged blackmailers.
Giving evidence today, Detective Inspector Paul Harty told the court how he led
the officers in an operation which involved temporarily using £50,000 of public
money to tempt Ian Strachan and Sean McGuigan to the Hilton Hotel in London.
This was referred to in court as a "flash the cash" tactic, the result of which
was the arrest of the two defendants and the seizing of the tapes on which it’s
claimed the royal (referred to in court as 'Witness A') performed a gay sex act on a male aide ('Witness D').
