20 JANUARY 2001, Page 49

This is an outrage

Taki

ARougemont

couple of years or so ago I received a letter from a Lord Harris of High Cross, a man I had never met, or ever heard of for that matter. It had to do with the Neil Hamilton case against Mohamed Fayed, and he was asking for my financial support. I have never met, spoken to, or corresponded with either litigant, although Fayed and I have exchanged barbs in these pages.

Harris's letter was straight to the point. It said that Hamilton's career had been ruined by a monstrous lie on the part of Fayed, and that the ex-MP needed to raise funds in order to take the Egyptian to court and set things right. Despite not knowing anything about Hamilton, except for what I had read in the newspapers, I provisionally pledged £5,000 in a letter I dictated to my girl Friday Fiona Garland. I heard nothing for quite some time, and figured that was just as well: British courts of law and lawyers have not been very favourable to the poor little Greek boy.

Then Lord Harris rang me out of the blue to say 'Please, do come and have a drink in the House of Lords. I do wish so much to meet you in person.' Although flattered that a life peer was so anxious to meet me, I nevertheless rang my friend Paul Johnson and asked him if Harris was OK. According to the sage, he was, so I had my girl Friday make an appointment with Lord Harris. Alas, one that I missed owing to an extremely late night out with some floozies. Looking back, that's when the trouble started. I was so embarrassed by my bad manners, that by the time I did meet Harris, on the terrace of the House of Lords, I was the one begging — for forgiveness — rather than him asking me for more funds. Which he did straight off the bat. He told me that unless I improved my pledge, Hamilton would not be able to bring his case to court, and 'a great miscarriage of justice will have taken place for lack of funds'. He was polite but made me feel I would be responsible if Hamilton did not make it.

Now I'm a big boy and all that, but the guilt lies deep, especially where the moolah is concerned. I reminded Harris that I had never met either man, and didn't particularly care, but I pledged a further £5,000 because I did believe that Fayed told monstrous lies and had never proved his case against Hamilton. And there's another thing I remember very clearly: I asked Lord Harris whether I could ever be held responsible for anything more than what I had pledged. 'Absolutely not,' was the answer, 'in fact, your name will be protected and no one except for myself will know about your involvement.'

The latter I was not worried about. After all. I have helped other people who have lost everything in the courts, but the idea — as I'm now told — that I contributed to Hamilton's fighting fund in order to recoup my pledge is ludicrous. Harris told me that if Hamilton won, and if there was any moolah left, contributors might get something back. This is the most important fact of all. If Harris remembers — and he better remember — I told him right there and then that my £10,000 was a gift, and that I wished for nothing in return.

Once the trial was under way, and it had emerged that Hamilton had been paid by some company for his advice, Harris rang me in New York. Things looked very bad for our side. According to his lordship, however, the case would be abandoned unless I came up with some more moolah because the Hamilton fund was empty. He put a lot of pressure on me and I relented. I will not make public what I gave because I'm not certain whether I sent it in my name or in the name of a company which is untraceable.

Now I have been contacted by some lawyers informing me that Lord Harris of High Cross, under a court order, has dis

closed my name as a donor of more than £5,000 to the funding organised by him. This is an outrage. Although the judge ordered him to do so, Harris had given his word to me that a) donors would never be named, b) that he'd rather be held in contempt of court than take the coward's way out. So, is an Englishman's word worth as little as that? Does a bewigged buffoon have the right to force someone like me to pay the towelhead damages? Of course not. I give a lot to charity and I do not deduct it from my taxes, either. I refuse to pay a penny to Fayed because I was never out to gain anything from him. I was only trying to play fair where rich versus poor is concerned. As in The Winslow Boy, it was not about justice, but about right and wrong. Harris and the judge can shove it.