Episode 3 Silk

-This is Amy, the new pupil.

-Hi.

-Billy's going to be here forever.

And it's going to be John or Harriet, not you.

I'll leave you here with your family.

-I can't be only a lawyer, Clive.

-But, Martha...

-Will you just leave me alone?!

-It leaked.

-But how did it get out?

-I don't care!

You are this close to extinction.

I'm the only reason that you're allowed to carry on existing, so get used to me, Billy.

Your clients come first, but where are they, Martha? Here with you now(?)

Word has it Alan Cowdrey's heading upstairs. There'll be a vacancy for Head of Chambers.

TV: 'No, I totally disagree. Cases like this exemplify the need

'for a change in the law.

'The rights of the individual to choose

'the circumstances of their own death is a human-rights issue.

'Sarah Stephens deserves our sympathy, not our censure.'

Thanks.

She'll meet you there in an hour.

Get your mate from Sunday League one from me, will you?

Ah, where you been, Jakey boy?

Day's already been seized, strip-searched and sentenced.

Ran into Toby from Finlay Fraser. Persuaded him to put these...our way.

-What are they?

-Remands.

-Court?

-Balham.

And what type of court is Balham, Jake?

Youth court.

Baby food.

John, give Russell at Shepherd Row a call

and tell him we've got some returns coming his way.

Walk 'em over, would you, Jake? Good boy.

So will you let them know I'll leave myself free for the six o'clock and ten o'clock as well? Thanks.

Taxi!

Does she really think giving interviews on our doorstep is going to intimidate us

-into not prosecuting her client?

-The opposite.

She's delighted we're prosecuting Sarah Stephens.

She gets to talk to the world about her favourite subject,

whilst fighting for a woman she believes in

-in a case that she thinks could force a change in the law.

-A test case.

-Yes,

-with the press and Parliament shining a great big spotlight on it. And you.

-Us.

Us.

She'll have chosen her battle ground carefully.

Of course.

But it's bigger than Aisha Wiseman, a case like this.

It's why we do what we do.

It's humbling, really.

To be part of an argument as important as this.

PHONE RINGS

Returns from Shoe Lane.

Jake?

Jake Milner?

Baroness.

HE CHUCKLES

The CPS only confirmed the murder charge this morning.

-You know me, Aisha.

-Oh, I know you, Billy.

First out of the traps. PHONE BEEPS

Well, I knew it wasn't my body you were after.

Although...there was a time...

Was?

Uncle Billy still using you as his errand boy?

Finlay Fraser?

Nice.

It's baby food.

But baby criminals turn into big criminals,

and...well, clerking is all about playing the long game, wouldn't you say, Jake?

Yeah, absolutely.

Tell you what,

you fancy a spot of breakfast?

Ah...

I best...be off.

Here.

In case you turn up any more work Uncle Billy doesn't want.

Why is this one so important to you? Your boy's prosecuting, isn't he?

Sympathy for a family torn apart by tragedy.

Not going soft in your old age, are you, Billy?

No, I'm still as hard as I always was,

Aisha, but I've got this new practice manager who's very into marketing,

and you are box-office gold.

More like UK Gold.

LAUGHS

I always thought you were a great loss to Parliament, Billy.

I can just see you whipping the backbenchers into voting for

some illegal war without them ever quite knowing what they were voting for.

Straight up, no bollocks,

you need someone who's going to fight for you all the way.

Get your client off, get you a landmark decision and a lead on Newsnight.

I've got just the silk for you.

She's a cross between Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King

and a small Rottweiler.

I thought that was me.

LAUGHS

What's her name?

Shakespeare was here.

And Elizabeth I.

You have lots in common, you and Elizabeth.

Brave, strong...

-Pale.

-Pale.

-Surrounded by men.

-Surrounded by men.

Saying no to all of them.

What do you want, Clive?

You know I'm prosecuting Sarah Stephens?

Right.

She admits to giving her tetraplegic daughter a fatal overdose,

but there's no evidence to suggest she wanted to die.

In fact, it looks likes the contrary.

Well, would she plead to assisted suicide?

We're not offering a deal.

It's murder.

There's clear intent to take a life.

You can argue about an individual's right to die,

but not putting murder on the indictment here would send a huge message.

It could open the floodgates to anyone who wants to...

finish off a burdensome relative.

We, the law,

can't allow that to happen.

HE SIGHS

It's going to be tough on me, Marth.

The whole thing's just...

tragic.

A life not lived.

Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow

creeps in this petty pace from day to day

to the last syllable of recorded time.

And all our yesterdays have lighted fools the way to dusty death.

Out, out, brief candle.

CHATTER

-A word, John.

-Billy, we're in a meeting.

1995, Pomerol.

Reasonably good vintage

for what turned out to be a piss-poor decade for Bordeaux.

Also the same year we left Forty Five to set up Shoe Lane.

We had to beg, borrow and steal,

work 18 hours, sleep on the floor,

skip meals, family and friends to build this place up.

I'd line up the cases, and Alan Cowdrey and the two kids would knock 'em down.

You're a clerk, John - you can't serve two masters.

Yes, boss.

Alan Cowdrey's leaving.

I'd like to do something... special for him.

Ah, Jake.

Just been sent over from Aisha Wiseman's office.

LAUGHS

Now, that is what you call clerking old-style.

Rubbish, rubbish, tax bill, Counsel magazine - Jesus Christ.

Perhaps one of you may care to clerk me -

old style or new style, I'm easy.

John, perhaps you could attend to Miss Warwick's needs.

Jake, could you drop that off in Miss Costello's room? Thank you.

-I finished that piece of advice.

-Ah, thank you, Amy.

Sorry, miss. Sir.

Chatline, Jake?

Yeah!

Brilliant!

That looks weighty.

Sarah Stephens.

Did you know about this?

Of course not!

Really?

It's as new to me as it is to you, Clive.

Bingo! How good is that?

Brief the size of the Titanic's arse.

Hello, sir.

Jo was 17 when she had the accident.

Her last year of school.

And her boyfriend, Luke Kemp, was driving.

It was McAllister's fault, the driver of the oncoming car.

So, a C4 tear in the spinal cord, resulting in

complete loss of function

from, and including, the shoulders down.

She spent five months in hospital, then returned to the family home,

where you and a team of carers looked after her.

The night of September the 30th, Sarah,

what happened?

I know this is difficult for you,

but the prosecution case turns on the fact

that there is no evidence that your daughter wanted to die.

She said, "If you loved me, you'd kill me."

That night?

Often.

And were there any other witnesses who heard her say it that night?

Um, wh...what about other times?

Maybe Harry.

And that's her brother? And what about the others?

Fraser and Grace were too little to understand.

Doctors, carers, your husband?

Do you have children, Miss Costello?

Erm, it's Martha, and no, no, I don't.

A mother knows when her child is pretending.

She put on a brave face for everybody else,

but I could see how much she was suffering.

When she thought no-one could hear her, she'd cry with the pain.

Physical?

Physical and emotional.

Normally, I'd leave her, but... that night, I couldn't.

I went to her, and she said that she'd had enough

and that she couldn't go on pretending.

Now, I have to ask this, Sarah, I'm sorry,

but you...didn't think of trying to talk her out of it?

Of course I did.

But she begged me - what could I do?

So it was a decision made in the moment?

That helps us, doesn't it?

I went on the internet

and I looked up what combination of her drugs would work

and then I made up a drip bag.

And the drugs were kept in a drug safe?

Yes, I didn't like having them about with the younger ones.

That's not what I meant.

So you...you didn't go to the chemist specially?

The whisky was already in the house as well, wasn't it, Sarah?

That proves that you didn't plan it.

And you gave her the whisky after you connected the drip?

To calm her down.

Then I sat with her.

And when she was gone...

..I called the police.

Immediately?

And your husband?

Mm.

I don't want Harry called as a witness.

I'm not happy about having to give evidence myself against my ex,

against Sarah.

But asking a son to go against his own mother...

We don't want anyone to go against anyone, Mr Stephens.

We just want you and him to tell us what you know.

He's 15 years old, Mr Reader.

Harry won't even have to appear in court.

I'll play a video of his evidence, he'll then be cross-examined via video link.

He won't see the jury, the court...

even his mother.

We'll see if you can sit with him too, if that's any help.

We need to establish whether she did or didn't express a desire to die.

Joanna deserves justice.

You don't have to tell me that.

I won't pretend, Sarah.

They have a strong case.

You intended to end Jo's life,

and there is no evidence to say she wanted you to.

You think I should plead guilty to murder?

I can't tell you how to plead,

but I think we can make a defence to the murder charge.

See you in court.

Yes.

Whatever you do to keep them sweet, I don't want to know.

There's nothing to know.

Present for you. Facts and figures.

Everything you need to know to become the next Head of Chambers.

Harriet.

Drink?

I've love to, but...I can't.

Work to do.

LAUGHS QUIETLY

Nine-handed violent disorder.

Lots of serious villains fighting in a pub.

Good for three weeks.

You know, John, I think I've underestimated you.

Ah, Amy Lang.

Good night, Billy.

Sometimes, there is a God.

Still here, Billy?

Just as evening touches night.

The number of times that members of chambers have wandered in here

at this time of night

without realising they want to tell me what's on the mind or in their heart...

Sarah Stephens.

I can't imagine her pain.

No.

Are you all right, Billy?

Mr Cowdrey's leaving do next week.

Er, he believes in democracy being active,

which, in plain English,

means you and Mr Reader standing for Head of Chambers.

Making everything a bit more complicated.

How's Amy getting on?

She's lots to learn, but she's got it.

Good. Got to look to the future, miss.

Hm, you're starting to sound like Harriet.

Our future, not hers.

Making plans for everyone?

It's my job, miss.

Spreadsheets...

financial planning from my accountant.

In the pub, on your own, eight o'clock at night?

OK, OK. The chambers' accounts.

Harriet thought I should get an overview.

Head of Chambers?

Are you interested?

Flattered.

Not sure.

Listen, I'm sorry about earlier.

I was angry that you were defending Sarah Stephens.

I'm just sick of us always being... against each other.

Well, maybe we don't always have to be.

Sarah Stephens is not a murderer.

She ended her daughter's life. She's admitted to it.

She will plead guilty to assisted suicide.

After all she's been through,

if you could just get the CPS to drop the murder charge...

I've told you...

I think it's a tragedy.

I can't do a deal on this one.

Why not?

Some of you will have elderly relatives in full-time care,

or disabled relatives, or friends.

What protects these vulnerable people who are dependent on others

for their most basic needs?

It is the law, ladies and gentlemen.

Now, the defence will argue that Joanna Stephens wanted to die.

There's no clear evidence of this.

And, without the victim's consent, the law says that this is murder.

Even with consent, the law states that it's assisted suicide.

The defence may even argue that the law itself contravenes Joanna's human right

to take her own life.

But remember,

these are the very laws that protect our elderly loved ones...

those who are mentally and physically disabled.

Your relatives and mine.

While none of us can be anything but profoundly moved

by the tragedy of the situation that Joanna Stephens found herself in,

or by the desperately hard situation that Sarah Stephens faced...

no-one,

ladies and gentlemen of the jury,

has the right...to play God.

What would the life expectancy of someone with Joanna's injuries be, Dr Bell?

With round-the-clock care, Joanna could easily have lived

for another 20 or 30 years.

With advances in medical science -

stem cell research, exoskeletons -

she might even have recovered some form of mobility.

Er, speculation, my Lord. These options do not currently exist.

Did Joanna ever express to you a desire to die?

No, she did not.

Can I refer you to the evidence folder, Dr Bell?

Er, Page 7. It's Jo's prescription at the time of her death.

Now, Jo was on a lot of drugs, Dr Bell,

so can you tell us what some of them are, starting with Item 7.1, please?

It's an anti-spasmodic.

The severed nerve endings can cause the paralysed limbs to spasm.

And 7.2 and 7.3, please?

Painkillers.

She was in pain?

Almost constant. Again, the severed nerve endings.

So constant pain, with no current treatments,

resulting in a lifetime of 24 hours a day dependency.

Did you discuss assisted suicide?

Joanna was...adjusting to her new circumstances.

I have no doubt, in time, she would have come to accept them.

Did you discuss assisted suicide, Dr Bell?

I explained to her...that doctors take an oath to help heal people

and that it would be contrary to everything we believe in

to help a patient die.

I also explained to her why it was against the law.

Your ethical opposition would mean it was very unlikely

that Jo would confide in you her desire to die.

My Lord, the witness cannot answer for what the deceased would or would not do.

There's another drug here, Item 7.7. What's that for?

It's an anti-depressant.

Jo was clinically depressed?

She was not...clinically depressed - she was on anti-depressants.

You're a clinician and you prescribed her with anti-depressants.

It's quite common for patients such as Joanna

to be...low about their situation.

How...low?

This was only six months on from her accident,

and with all the upheavals in her and her family's life...

You knew of Jo's feelings,

you just didn't take them seriously.

If Joanna had really wanted to die,

she could have refused food and water.

Because she didn't starve herself to death,

you didn't think Jo was serious about ending her own life?

-What I meant was...

-Thank you, Dr Bell.

VMS.

Vasomotor symptoms.

Hot flushes.

Like women of a certain age.

And men having hormone treatment for prostate cancer, I'm afraid.

But on the upside...

it's a sign the implants are working.

I just don't feel...like...a man.

Have you checked it out recently?

Too afraid to, just in case there's...

..nothing.

Billy. Hi. Erm, I got your note.

Ah.

Gustavo. Glass of your finest Sancerre, please.

CHUCKLES

Come this way.

Cheers.

Glad you had a change of heart, Jake.

It's only a drink, isn't it?

Like the mother polar bear when her cub gets stuck on an ice floe,

so your clerk should be into the freezing waters,

looking out for you.

SHE LAUGHS WEAKLY

But you paid all the costs yourself.

I see that as an investment.

Tell me, er, how are you getting on with Martha Costello, miss?

Um...yeah. I mean, er, I admire her enormously and...

Good.

Excellent.

How much?! Has he got you running up chimneys as well?

LAUGHS

I hope you don't mind, I, er... I told them we'd be here.

Get 'em in, fellas, and, er, one for meself and Jake,

or I'll send you to work for Billy Lamb!

No, seriously, Jake, we're a traditional set.

Defence is what we do.

We appreciate smart young clerks who've got the nose

and the rest of the man-tackle to get out there

and sniff out the new work.

So...

RUSSELL WHISPERS

And I'll tell you what, I'll even throw in a new suit.

RUSSELL LAUGHS

Cos we're the Shepherds, eh, lads?

And we look after our flock.

-Cheers.

-ALL: Cheers.

See, I don't get a vote. It's up to members of chambers

which pupil gets in or not.

But...

..three quarters of them don't know if the pupil's good enough...

so they come to me.

And I tell them.

Because I know.

And the don't-knows vote the way I tell them they should vote.

What are you saying?

You're in.

On the basis of what I've seen and what all the solicitors have told me,

you are Shoe Lane.

-But I only just started...

-No buts.

-But...

-But?

There is one thing I'll be asking for in return...

Miss Amy Lang.

I have to go.

Er, my boyfriend. I... I was meant to meet him.

Sorry.

When did you last see Joanna alive, Mr Stephens?

Around seven on the evening she died.

And how would you describe her spirits?

Good.

How would you say... Sarah reacted to Joanna's accident?

Is there a good way to react?

Erm, well, how did you describe your wife to the police

on the night that Jo died?

I was angry.

Sarah...had an awful burden to bear.

Can you tell the court what you told the police?

I think I described her as withdrawn and cut off.

-And depressed. Was she depressed?

-My Lord, the witness is not qualified.

I'll put it another way. Was Sarah on anti-depressants?

Mr Stephens.

Yes.

Did she find it difficult to cope?

We all struggled, in our own way.

And was she the sole carer?

There was a team, during the day.

They, er, washed Jo,

they changed her, fed her,

administered her drugs. Sarah...sometimes liked to feed Jo.

Who paid for them?

The insurance settlement.

And how much was that settlement for?

£5 million.

But it was to support Jo for the rest of her life.

What happens to the rest of that money?

It goes to her next of kin.

You and Sarah.

He knows it isn't about the money.

Why did he bring it up?

Because you plant it in the jury's mind, it sticks there,

then it colours everything else they hear.

Well, how do we counter it?

You and Jo were close prior to her accident?

Very.

So she must have been very upset

when you had an affair and left the family home.

She was upset that I moved out, yes.

And afterwards you saw less of Jo?

I saw her every day.

But you weren't in a position to judge her frame of mind, hour by hour.

Did you ever talk to Sarah about Jo wanting to end her life?

Yes.

She was set against it.

And Jo?

The counsellor helped her greatly.

And it was your idea to go to the St Jude's Centre for a counsellor?

Sarah and I agreed it would be a good idea

for Jo to talk to someone with expertise.

I am a practising Catholic.

I asked our priest for advice.

And you believed that, by last September, Jo was in a better frame of mind?

Oh, yes.

Nor had Sarah come round to supporting the view

that Jo might want to take her own life?

Not to the best of my knowledge, no.

Which suggests Sarah's actions, at the very least,

-was not premeditated.

-My Lord...

How did you feel when you arrived at the house

of the morning of October the 1st?

My little girl was dead.

But you described your feelings as anger to my learned friend.

Yes, I was.

After everything she'd suffered...

..to end like that.

Nobody has the right...

I never even got to say goodbye to her.

Were you angry with your wife?

And myself.

If I could have persuaded them not to...

"Them"? So Jo and Sarah?

Whoever decided.

So you admit that, in spite of the counselling,

Jo might have wanted this?

No, I mean Sarah.

She was the adult.

Sarah did it.

She gave her the drugs.

Do you not think Jo might have put on a front for you?

I beg your pardon?

Well, maybe she was frightened

of losing the little bit she had left of you,

-after you'd run off with your new girlfriend.

-We're not together.

And she knew that you, like her counsellor,

rejected her right to want to die.

That's not how it was.

You were angry, weren't you, Mr Stephens?

Angry with your God for Jo's cruel accident.

-No!

-And angry with yourself

for running into the arms of another woman.

And, however much

you say you are a reluctant witness,

you were angry with your wife for being...

-My Lord, my learned friend is badgering the witness.

-..so caught up in her own grief

that she couldn't support you in yours,

and this is the bottom line, Mr Stephens -

Jo wanted to die, you were just too angry to hear her.

How dare you?!

How dare you do that to my husband?

All you did was belittle him. He's still the father of my children,

and he's all they'll have when I'm sent to prison.

Are you all right?

Yeah...yeah, I'm fine.

Miss?

My favourite clerk.

All right, Billy boy?

Hmm...

Must be a chilli or something.

In an egg and cress?!

Have to have a word with Chef.

All right, Billy?

Are you behaving yourself?

CHUCKLES

Chance would be a fine thing, Russell.

Thanks for sending over your unwanteds.

Oh, well, my mother always told me to look out for

those who are...less fortunate than myself.

Well...

..any more like him, and we'll be happy to take 'em.

It's like Al Capone... your nine-hander.

Meaning, John?

They can't get them for the big crimes, these boys.

But they can put them away for kicking the hell out of each other

in a pub on a Saturday night.

Same result - horrible men go to prison.

If they're convicted.

That's down to you, miss.

But we're not here to talk about me.

We're here to talk about us.

You were Joanna's counsellor, Mr Luckhurst?

I'd like to think that Jo and I became friends.

What sort of conversations did you have?

Frank and open.

Jo had begun to find her life... meaningful,

in a much fuller way.

Only three days before she died,

she'd agreed to take a trip the following year to France.

Was she, in your professional opinion, suicidal?

No.

And her mother, Sarah?

Well, I talked with the whole family.

Sarah seemed firmly against Jo ending her life.

Were you surprised when you heard what she'd done?

Yes.

I'd have to say I was.

France?

Yes.

Where?

Lourdes.

The Stephens are Catholic.

Mr Stephens and the children, at least.

And was Lourdes Jo's idea?

The St Jude's Centre organises trips.

It was they who recommended me to Mr Stephens.

And this is a Catholic organisation?

I am a fully qualified counsellor.

But you practise within the boundaries of the Catholic faith?

You see, I...I don't see them as boundaries.

I think Mr Stephens wanted a counsellor who would stress

the importance, the...the gift of life.

The Catholic Church believes suicide to be a sin,

because it's to despair of God's love.

My Lord, the Catholic doctrine is not on trial.

The witness's moral code is completely based on Catholic teaching.

Carry on, Miss Costello.

After her accident, when you visited Jo...

..she was in despair.

Well, it is common in such cases, but...

she was a bright girl.

I think she came to a clear understanding and acceptance of her position.

And did you report your conversations to anyone?

Yes, I...discussed her progress with her parents.

Mr Luckhurst, do you not think a bright girl like Jo

would have guessed that you were telling her father?

And that she knew both you and he, as Catholics,

considered suicide to be a sin?

-My Lord, how can the witness possibly answer that question?

-Well, of course he can.

It's his job to know what people are thinking

and if he can't then he's not much cop as a counsellor.

I'm not a clairvoyant.

Do you pray?

Every day.

I take instructions from my client,

whereas you take instructions from a supernatural entity

that can't be cross-examined,

but whose wisdom you ask us to take as read?

That's a question, Mr Luckhurst.

Miss Costello.

Beef Wellington, rare but not bloody.

Like you ordered, boss, best of British.

That is Alan Cowdrey.

When Alan arrives, stick with him.

You need to look like the anointed one.

And you make the presentation speech.

It's the starting pistol for the campaign.

Boyfriend OK?

Er...yeah, yeah, he's fine, thank you.

I should really...

Of course, Miss Lang. Just a moment.

I think we need to get something straight between us.

-I really don't...

-No, no, I understand

that you're young and inexperienced.

You haven't seen close up how this world works.

But we're both grown-ups.

Perhaps I didn't make myself clear before. It's quite simple.

You give me what I want, and I'll give you what you want.

It's win/win.

I'm the gift horse,

and you're staring straight in his mouth.

So, put your application for tenancy in.

When I consider where we started from...

me and Billy with a telephone, a chair, a desk,

all of which he got.

And a very big overdraft, which I got.

And where we are now, I take immense pride in that.

But much as you are my family, I have a real family.

And it's long overdue that I focused on them.

It's also time that a younger person

took over the reins here, with the energy to...fight the fight

that the Criminal Bar has on its hands.

And we are very lucky to have, in Martha Costello and Clive Reader,

two outstanding candidates...

Three.

Three candidates.

I'd like to throw my wig into the ring,

offer the electorate a real choice - a third way, so to speak.

Quite.

Well, this is a democracy, after all.

Whoever wins will have a hard act to follow in this man.

One of the greats.

The other thing we had in chambers when we first started

and one of the reasons for your overdraft was...

this.

A good vintage for a good man, who it's been a privilege to clerk.

Thank you, Billy.

KNOCKING

Boss.

You forget, Jake, I know everything.

I've been offered First Junior.

Well, you've ducked and you've dived.

You've become a clerk, a true clerk. Now go.

But...

You broke my heart, Jake.

Now get out.

How often did you visit Joanna?

A few times a week. She was my girlfriend.

And how did you find it?

There were fights, before Mr Stephens left.

-Fights?

-More like aggressive silences, you know?

And after Mr Stephens left?

I think she found it hard... Sarah...Mrs Stephens.

She got angry at the others for nothing. Jo said the carers, or even Harry,

often had to cook them dinner.

And when you were there?

She was always upstairs.

What about Joanna?

She was amazing. So positive.

Who's Liane, Luke?

My girlfriend. Now.

And when did you start going out with her?

A while back.

Before Jo died?

A week or two.

And did Jo know you were going out with someone else?

No.

How do you know?

She never said anything.

Why didn't you tell her?

Because...you know... it's not nice to find out.

Especially in Jo's position?

Yeah. I suppose.

And you don't think she could have found out?

She didn't say anything.

Well, she was a smart girl, Luke.

She was sensitive and emotionally mature.

She must have known. Or are you just a very, very good liar?

She never said she knew.

You were playing at being her boyfriend.

That's not true!

Sarah, why didn't you tell me Luke had a new girlfriend?

I'm sorry, I didn't...

You didn't know, did you?

Why is that important?

Because something happened to push Jo over the edge

and convince Sarah to help her.

Finding out about Luke.

And it would have been as all her friends went off to uni.

Leaving Jo behind.

Mum went to bed early.

Me and Frase hung out with Jo for a while.

I put Gracey to bed and then I watched the Arsenal match.

Were you the last to go to bed?

And Jo was still alive then?

When you woke up?

There were police and doctors all over, and...

Mum was crying and telling them what she'd done.

And Fraser and Grace?

Frase had got up too. Er, he was crying.

I... I told him to stop, but he wouldn't.

But... But then Dad came.

How was he?

'He was upset, and...and angry.

'He... He told us to get upstairs.'

'Thank you very much, Harry.'

The end of Harry Stephens' recorded evidence?

Yes, my Lord.

Is the live link ready for the cross-examination?

Hello, Harry. Bear with us while we get things in order at this end.

CLEARS THROAT

Hello, Harry.

Now, my name's Martha,

and I'm going to be asking you some questions.

-OK.

-OK.

Now, when did Jo find out that Luke had another girlfriend, Harry?

Fraser had told her a week before.

I...I beat him up for that.

-Why?

-Because with all the other shit in her life she didn't need that.

Was she upset about it?

No. She was cool.

Now, Harry, did Jo tell you that she wanted to die?

No!

Look, Harry, we have to ask you these questions,

because you were the last person to see Jo alive.

I...don't know! She... She never said. I...I told you.

Now, your father...and Jo's doctor have both said that

in the early days after the accident, that Jo was very low.

Now, your mother has said

that Jo might have told you she wanted to die then.

Maybe then, early on. But...not later.

So when was the last time?

I don't... I don't know.

A few weeks before?

Yeah. Weeks.

So she did tell you?

Um...

Could I have Patrick's evidence?

Thank you.

Now, your father said that the carers gave Jo her drugs. Is that correct?

Mum didn't like to,

in case she got it wrong, she said.

And if there was an emergency and the carers weren't there to give Jo her drugs,

would your mum do it?

No. I did.

You did?

So the drug safe... Now, did your mother give you the code?

No, I, um...

-Harry?

-I texted the carers.

What the hell was that?

Her story doesn't add up.

Your job is to make it add up, not to undermine it.

If you would just let me call Fraser and Grace.

When Fraser showed Jo the photograph of Luke,

maybe she said something to him then.

-No.

-Well, surely, she must

have told somebody else about how she felt.

Look, I'm sorry, Sarah, but things just don't add up.

Do you know what Clive Reader will do with you in cross-examination?

It is his job to tear you apart.

I've given you my instructions.

And what was it that changed your mind that night?

I'd listened to her crying enough.

I'd watched Jo suffer enough.

Thank you.

Enough?

I beg your pardon?

You'd watched her enough? You'd listened to her enough?

Yes.

Enough for who - you or her?

No.

You weren't coping, were you, Sarah?

Witness after witness has told us - your husband, Joanna's boyfriend,

even your own son.

I was doing my best.

We can only imagine how difficult that must have been for you...

..this terrible, terrible accident,

leaving your lovely daughter as helpless as she was when she was a...a baby.

And you, on your own, without your husband,

facing the rest of your life looking at your child in pain.

Jo was trapped, but... you were trapped with her.

Joanna's death freed you, didn't it?

No.

On the 30th of September, after you came downstairs

and found your daughter crying in pain,

did you look up a combination of her drugs that would kill her?

Sarah?

I mixed the drugs.

Not only that, did you take the drugs from the drug safe?

Yes.

You see, both these things, and the connecting of the bag to the drip,

without witnesses, or proof that Joanna wanted to die,

all add up to murder in the eyes of the law.

"If you loved me, you'd kill me", that's what she said.

We have only your word for that.

(Don't ever do what I'm about to.)

What's the code for the drug safe, Sarah?

Well, is it letters? Or is it numbers?

Numbers.

A combination of letters and numbers.

Why did you give her a glass of whisky?

To calm her down, in case the drugs...

Well, the website you say you consulted

says alcohol should be given to accelerate the effects of the drugs.

What are you doing? Why are you doing this? Stop!

You're supposed to be on my side.

I am on your side.

That's why I don't want you convicted of something you didn't do.

I did it. I told you.

Murder carries a mandatory life sentence, Sarah.

You won't see your children grow up.

-Can I have a word?

-I'm talking with my client.

Three years ago, I got pregnant.

And I'd always said, if the time wasn't right,

then I'd terminate the pregnancy.

But when it came to it I couldn't do it.

So I can't begin to imagine what it must feel like

having your teenage daughter begging you to help her to die.

-Are you covering for someone?

-No.

I think you're covering for your son.

I can't bear to lose another child.

I can't represent you if I know you're lying.

-But I'm willing to take the blame.

-Sarah...

Our justice system doesn't work like that.

Please, Sarah, let me recall Harry.

Harry...

He had the code.

It wasn't him?

Fraser, my name is Martha,

and I'm trying to help your mummy.

Now, she told me that you made a deal

about what happened the night Jo died.

And that you weren't to tell anyone what you did.

But...she's in a lot of trouble now...

..and she needs you to tell us.

Can you do that for me... and your mum?

Could you tell us... what happened that night?

Harry went to watch the football,

but Jo asked me to stay...and look up something for her on her laptop.

I could see it was about killing and stuff.

I...I told her I didn't think we should be looking at this.

But she said, I'd see, when she was gone.

She said everything would be better...

Dad would come back.

Mum would be happier.

She was lying.

That was never going to happen.

It's OK, Fraser. Now...

can you tell me how you got into the drug safe?

She told me Harry had a code on his phone.

And then?

And how much of her medicines to put in one of the bags.

The drip bags?

But Harry was still watching football,

so...she told me to go to bed,

pretend to be asleep

and wait for him to go to sleep.

And later you got up

and you connected the drip?

And I...I gave her whisky too, cos it...it told me to.

Where was your mum?

'Jo told me not to wake her up

'until I was sure she wasn't breathing any more.

'She told me this trick, with her breath on a mirror, so I could tell.'

'Do you know why Jo didn't want your mum

'to know what you were doing?

'She said she'd only try and stop her.

'Jo and Mum were always arguing.

'Mum said she was too young, and...too many people loved her.

'Fraser...

'did you film her on your phone that night?

'I didn't want to, but...she told me to.'

And do we have this film?

Yes, my Lord.

'Is it recording?

'Fraser, it's important.

'Mum, Dad, I love you both.

'But this is what I want.

'For a long time...

'but most especially now.

'And don't blame Fraser - he's only doing what I've asked him to.

'And Harry and Grace and Fraser, I love you too,

'but I just can't do it any more.

'Don't cry, baby bro.

'Turn it off.'

SHE WHISPERS

AISHA CLEARS THROAT

The Crown has considered its position and, in all circumstances,

we will not be offering any more evidence.

The defendant is free to go.

And, in the light of Fraser Stephens' confession, we will...

review the case.

No!

Mr Reader, it's not my job to advise the CPS, but might I express the court's view

that this case be reviewed as a matter of urgency?

Yes, my Lord.

They're back.

It's over.

We won't prosecute Fraser.

Yeah...

I've known for months, but, um...

..haven't told anyone...

Er...it's not easy to say this...

I got your message.

You won, miss!

Everyone should have control over the manner of their departure.

Jake's resignation for Shepherds Row.

In one move, he's raised the IQ of both establishments.

CHUCKLES

Ah, kids grow up, Billy.

You've got to let them get on with their own lives.

I, um...

..I want you to be the next Head of Chambers.

No, no, you don't need me to do that.

I do, miss...

..because I won't be here.

Because I'm dying.

I've said it now.

That wasn't so bad.

You promising her tenancy...

-So?

-With your hand on her knee?

-Sorry, I'm just a bit stressed.

-We're all stressed, duckie - it's the Criminal Bar.

-The US want to extradite my nephew, Rashid.

-I'm not an extradition lawyer.

Clive, you've done extradition.

Never again, because you lose.

I'm professionally embarrassed.

-He's lying!

-You know what you said!

I'm warning both of you.

What if I told you that Rashid was involved?

I wouldn't believe you.

I'd like to make an official complaint against Billy.

Help me, please.