‘You made a phone call to Sharon McColl on the morning Kevin Boyle died.’

‘Is that a question, Mr Muirhead?’ Lord Cowden also knew that something was about to happen and he was not keen to see Muirhead demolish a potentially crucial Crown witness.

‘Of course it’s a question – and I am entitled to an answer.’

‘Maybe. I…I can’t remember.’

‘You can’t remember phoning someone, you can’t remember if you do know or do not know. Have I got that right?’

‘I phoned her.’

‘You suddenly remember this, do you?’

‘Yes…sorry.’

‘What did you talk about?’

‘Nothing.’

‘I see. You phoned this person and then the two of you sat silently at the opposite end of a phone line. Yes?’

‘Nothing much.’

‘What much?’

‘I told you, I can’t remember.’

‘Who is Mike?’ A swift change of tack.

‘Mike who?’

‘Yes, that was my question, now can I have an answer?’

Muirhead was in full cry and Barbara Potter would have done anything to be somewhere else – anywhere else.

‘I know a lot of people called Mike.’

‘Doubtless, but which one did you speak to Sharon McColl about?’

Barbara’s face carried the clear message, ‘How the fuck do you know about this’. She wanted to say something and although her mouth was open, nothing came out.

‘You phoned Miss McColl to tell her that you had just made an easy few quid. You had been paid to screw some guy called Mike and he had been too pissed to get it up.’

She still did not know how he knew, but clearly he knew – too much.

‘Yes.’

‘Louder please, so we can ALL hear you.’ Muirhead stared directly at the judge.

‘YES.’

‘So why did you lie?’

‘I don’t know.’ Her answer was whispered, but this time she was not asked to speak up.

‘You attended an identification parade at London Road Police Office, did you not?’ Another sudden change of topic made her think that perhaps the worst was past. She was sadly mistaken.

‘Did you pick anyone out at the parade?’

‘No.’

‘Why not?’

‘I was nervous. I didn’t know what to do.’

Muirhead feigned incredulity.

‘What do you mean you didn’t know what to do? A policeman would tell you that if you saw the person you had referred to in your statement to the police you should pick him out by number. Correct?’

‘Yes.’

‘So what were you too nervous to do?’

‘Say anything, I suppose.’

‘That’s just another lie, Miss Potter, isn’t it?’

‘I can’t remember.’

‘A policeman took a note of what you did say at the parade and it is, “He’s not here, I’m certain”.’

‘Yes.’

‘So the man you claim you saw in the disco was not at the ID Parade?’

‘No.’