Man cleared of insurance forgery

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A Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) worker accused of using a forged car insurance certificate in a bid to save his career has been cleared.

Byron Green, 21, was alleged to have hoped that by sending the document to a colleague he would escape conviction for letting his disqualified cousin drive his car.

London's Southwark Crown Court heard the pair were arrested after the vehicle was stopped by police in October 2006.

After initially being accused of allowing his car to be driven without cover, he wrote to the lawyer dealing with his case insisting "[I did] everything I could to make sure my cousin was insured". He added: "He showed me an insurance certificate and here is a copy of it."

But Isobel Ascherson, prosecuting, claimed the defendant, who was later charged with one count of perverting the course of justice, knew the document was a forgery. His letter to the lawyer was designed to get himself "out of trouble", she insisted.

But Green, of Stanfield Road, Bournemouth, Dorset, denied any wrongdoing and insisted he believed the document was genuine.

After just over an hour he was judged to be telling the truth and cleared of perverting the course of justice.

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