Golf captain and former royal driver, 57, is cleared of sexually assault

A former driver to the Royal Family and Tony Blair has been cleared of sexually assaulting four women at the golf club he captained.

Malcolm Fawcett, 57, was accused of abusing his position of ‘power, prestige and influence’ to grab, grope and slap their buttocks in the corridors of the grand Brancepth Castle Golf Club near Durham. 

He was even alleged to have plunged his cold hands down a woman’s top to warm them up. 

The retired police officer from Framwellgate Moor, Durham, conceded could be ‘crass and crude’ but robustly denied the allegations and was today vindicated with a not guilty verdict for all 11 charges.

His barrister told the jury the women conspired together to destroy Mr Fawcett’s reputation, and also claimed that the #Metoo movement had changed the boundaries of acceptable conduct.   

After leaving the dock he hugged his wife Audra, 52, a serving officer with Durham Police.

During the trial at Teeside Crown Court, the supposed victims told jurors they were powerless to stop Mr Fawcett’s advances from 2016 to 2018.

And they suggested Mr Fawcett had strongarmed the committee, which did not act on their complaints. 

The retired police officer (second from left) is the golf captain at the grand Brancepth Castle Golf Club near Durham

After leaving the dock he hugged his wife Audra, 52, a serving officer with Durham Police (pictured arriving)

He had been accused of planting ‘uninvited and unwanted’ kisses on the women.

Another young woman said he kissed her and told her she was ‘f***ing gorgeous’ as he gave her a lift to her gym and slid his hands down her back and across her bottom during a boozy trip to Durham’s Champagne Bar.

Mr Fawcett’s wife supported him throughout the trial, attending court every day of the three week hearing.

She gave evidence to say that the kisses and cuddles she saw were ‘reciprocated’ by the women.

Mr Fawcett’s defence lawyer Caroline Goodwin QC said attitudes had changed in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein scandal and the #Metoo movement.

She told jurors: ‘Things that were considered acceptable 15 years ago are simply not acceptable now and some people have to catch up.

‘Some things people say are crass – you are not supposed to say to people ‘your backside is looking good.’

‘But that does not mean you are a sexual pervert. It does not mean, as Mr Fawcett said in his police interview, that he is a sexual predator.’

Mr Fawcett pleaded not guilty to 11 charges of sexual assault dating from January 2016 until January 2018 and he was cleared on every count by the jury after deliberating across two days. 

Giving evidence Mr Fawcett admitted he could be uncouth but said he didn’t realise women at the club described him as ‘a creep.’

Mr Fawcett, 57, was accused of abusing his position of ‘power, prestige and influence’ to grab, grope and kiss them in the corridors of the club (pictured)

The not guilty verdicts restore the reputation Mr Fawcett posted about on his LinkedIn profile, which was taken down during the trial.

In it he wrote: ‘I have been a police officer for 30 years, I qualified as an advanced driver in June 1992 then went on to be a VIP driver in 1994.

‘In September 1999 I qualified as a police advanced driving instructor and went on to become a National Police Pursuit instructor as well as a Cat ‘A’ prisoner escort instructor.

‘In my service I have personally driven for several members of the Royal family and Tony Blair when he was prime minister. I also hold HGV class1 and PCV driving licences 

The jury was not told of previous complaints made about Mr Fawcett when he was a policeman – including a bizarre allegation that he had once used a strawberry in an sex attack. 

Judge Jonathan Carroll declined to allow the allegations made by two female Durham police officers to be given in evidence.

He rejected the prosecution’s application to place the testimonies of the two officers before the court as evidence of Mr Fawcett’s previous bad character. No charges arose from their claims.

Brancepth Castle Golf Club is a sprawling course set in the grounds of a grand castle in Durham

Summarising this evidence, Judge Carroll said: ‘The evidence being adduced is from two police officers with whom the defendant worked in the past where they make allegations.

‘In one case the defendant was said to have been making inappropriate sexualised comments saying she was sexy in her glasses and later when they were in a vehicle he leaned over her and said ‘don’t worry, I don’t bite – unless you are into that sort of thing.’

He said the other female officer complained of similar comments and gave a ‘specific examples of sexualised physical contact.’

Judge Carroll said: ‘She said he held a strawberry next to her breasts and looked as though he was about to eat the strawberry but in fact bringing his face into contact with her breast.

‘One another occasion, she claimed that he put his hand underneath her as she took a seat in a taxi so that she sat on his hand.’

The woman also alleged that on another occasion Fawcett had positioned himself so that he could look up her skirt.

Judge Carroll ruled the allegations inadmissible as they were likely to have ‘such an adverse effect on the fairness of the trial.’

Fawcett left court without comment.