Man '˜withheld info'about McCauley case

Paul McCauley pictured before the attack which claimed his life.

Charles Buckingham, of Nash Court Gardens, Margate, Kent, is charged with withholding information about the murder of Mr McCauley and the assaults on two other men on December 16, 2015.

Defence counsel Greg Berry QC said: “The facts are not in dispute.”

He acknowledged that Buckingham was privy to a conversation where “certain information was shared.”

However, the defence barrister said that Buckingham was in Scotland when he heard this information and as the charge of withholding information does not exist in Scotland, England or Wales, he should not be prosecuted for it.

The barrister added that an attempt to prosecute Buckingham for the offence was ‘trying to put a square peg into a round hole’.

However, prosecutors denied this to be the case and said that the charges should be upheld.

The prosecution argued that as the events connected to the withholding of information by Buckingham were connected to this city, Buckingham should be prosecuted in this jurisdiction.

He said that passing on information about a murder was ‘within the public interest’.

The barrister added: “All this man had to do was simply pick up a mobile phone.”

District Judge Barney McElholm adjourned the case until June 22 to consider the arguments.