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Harry bowed his head and said, very quietly, “Yes, I am”

For the first ties showed an emotion—surprise The chair what her masters had clearly alanted

“Then you may approach the dais,” she said

Harry stood up and walked over to the three judges He was shoo copies of the confession, one in Russian and the other in English, both of which he read carefully

“You will now read your confession to the court”

Harry read the Russian version first, which brought a smile to the lips of the colish version and started to recite it From the blank stares he received he wondered if anyone in that courtroolish He decided to take a risk, change the occasional word, and see how they reacted

“I, Harry Clifton, a citizen of the United Kingdom, and President of PEN, have involuntarily and with coercion, signed this confusion I have spent the past three years with Anatoly Babakov, who has made it clear to me that he did work in the Kremlin, andwhen he arded his degree Babakov also admitted that the book he wrote about Coination

“I shall continue to demand Babakov’s release froths this court went to, in order to deceive the public with this fraud I ay on this occasion, and for allowing me to return to my own country”

The chairn both copies when he decided to take a second risk

“Members of the jury,” said Mrs Justice Lane “It now falls to me to sum up what has been a complex case Some facts are not in dispute Mrs Clifton does not deny that when addressing a packed annual generalreply to a question froinia Fenwick, and later had it recorded in thethe coinia, then … you have failed, and failed lamentably, because you were defeated by decent ordinary people ant this company to be a success

“The defendant, Mrs Clifton, has testified that she believes her words were justified, while the plaintiff, Lady Virginia, claims they are libelous Whether they are or not is what this trial is about, and the final decision is yours

“Your biggest challenge, ement about the tomen involved in this case You have seen them both in the witness box, and I suspect you will have formed your own opinion as to which you consider the more credible Do not allow yourselves to be influenced by the fact that Mrs Clifton is the chairiven so a question from someone she considers hostile What you inia, or did not

“Equally, you should not be overawed by the fact that Lady Virginia is the daughter of an earl You must treat her no differently than you would your next-door neighbor

“When you retire to the jury room to consider your verdict, take your time I am in no hurry And do not fo