LIVERPOOL law firm Armstrongs took on the Treasury Solicitor and won, in an unusual defamation claim to secure compensation from the Crown Prosecution Service.
Armstrongs represented learning support teacher Mark Bridger, who brought the claim against the CPS over an email it sent to his former employer, Bexhill College.
Mr Bridger was acquitted in 2008 of two charges of raping a 17-year-old girl and one charge of sexual assault.
Bexhill College sought information about the case from the CPS, who replied with an email detailing the original Crown case but failing to mention the acquittals.
Armstrongs director Ian Carruthers said: “We are very pleased. It was a major victory for us and Mr Bridger.”
Mr Carruthers and his assistant, Peter O’Hare, worked on the case for more than a year.
He added: “It was a difficult case but we were always confident.
“As a firm, we haven’t had a case against the CPS before – the circumstances of the case were unusual.”
The CPS, represented by the Treasury Solicitor, agreed to pay compensation to Mr Bridger and his legal costs.
In an agreed apology, they said: “Regrettably, it was not made clear in the email, as it had been in the telephone conversation, that you had been acquitted and the summary prepared before the trial should be read in that context.”
