The angry boyfriend of a woman who was allegedly raped by the founder of a VIP club and his chef threatened to shoot one of her accused attackers after she told him she had been attacked, a court has heard.
Billy Brannigan, 61, who ran the exclusive Cobden Club, is said to have attacked the woman along with then chef Chris Agathocleous, 55, after she passed out under the influence of alcohol in a shabby hotel room in 1997.
The woman claims she woke up to find the men lying on top of her before she broke free and fled naked into the street.
She reported the attack the next day to the club’s managing director, Luke Johnson, then chairman of Pizza Express, Southwark Crown Court was told. The jury heard he offered her vouchers to the restaurant chain as compensation.
The alleged victim said she finally had the courage to report the alleged assault to police after confiding in a new boyfriend in 2020.
When she testified, the woman said her boyfriend was “very upset” when she told him she had been raped and he threatened to kill Brannigan with a gun.
Billy Brannigan, 61, (pictured), who ran the exclusive Cobden Club, is said to have attacked the woman along with then chef Chris Agathocleous, 55, after she passed out under the influence of alcohol in a shabby hotel room in 1997
Felicia Davy, defending Brannigan, asked: “Do you remember him telling the police he had gone mad?”
The alleged victim replied: “He was very upset. ‘I think he put me to bed and left straight away.’
Ms Davy asked the woman why she complained to Mr Johnson instead of calling the police from the hotel.
‘I was shocked. I was scared, I didn’t know what to do. “That was obviously my solution,” the woman said.
She admitted that in December 2022, without his knowledge, he recorded a telephone conversation with her boyfriend in which she asked him to talk about the incident.
The woman said her partner had just been released from prison and did not want to deal with the police in any way.
She said it was the first time she had spoken to him in 20 years.
“I wanted him to tell the truth. “I wanted him to tell the police what happened.”
Ms Davy asked: “Did you ask him to say what you wanted him to say?”
The woman replied, “No.”
The woman claims she woke up to find Agathocleous (pictured) and Brannigan on top of her before breaking free and fleeing naked into the street. She reported the alleged attack the next day to the club’s managing director, Luke Johnson, then chairman of Pizza Express, Southwark Crown Court was told. The jury heard he offered her vouchers to the restaurant chain as compensation
The alleged victim was in her early 20s and had just finished university when she was offered a glamorous front-of-house job at the Cobden Club in 1997.
She told the jury how she had finished work one evening and had drinks with Brannigan and Agathocleous.
They ended up at a hotel in Paddington where they shared a bottle of vodka, the court heard. The woman claims she was attacked after she fainted and fell into a single bed.
Ms Davy asked the woman why she reported the incident over 20 years later, adding that there was CCTV and forensic testing available at the time which could have assisted in the investigation.
The alleged victim responded: “I realize I made things harder on myself by reporting it 20 years later.”
Ms Davy said: “There was no sexual activity whatsoever, was there no sexual intercourse at all in that hotel room?”
The woman added: “This is completely untrue, I was raped by Mr Brannigan.”
She was asked how she responded to Mr Johnson’s offer of Pizza Express vouchers as compensation and what their value was.
The woman replied, “I don’t know, it was a ridiculous thing.”
The Cobden Club (pictured) opened in Notting Hill in 1996. Members included author Will Self and Mariella Frostrup, while the late Amy Winehouse sang there early in her career. The Cobden was founded by Brannigan and was once popular with stars such as Kate Moss and Jade Jagger. It was closed in 2010
The Cobden Club opened in Notting Hill in 1996. Members included author Will Self and Mariella Frostrup, while the late Amy Winehouse sang there early in her career.
The Cobden was founded by Brannigan and was once popular with stars such as Kate Moss and Jade Jagger. It was closed in 2010.
Brannigan, from Notting Hill, and Agathocleous, from Crouch End, both deny an allegation of rape.
The process continues.
Source : www.dailymail.co.uk