Cleared

Basil Dearing, 61, of Grindleton, near Clitheroe, and John Greenwood, 48, of Barnoldswick, had charges against them dropped at Preston Crown Court.

The pair, along with with 11 others, were charged following a National Crime Squad probe into allegations of money laundering for an East Lancashire drugs gang called The Firm.

But the Crown dropped the charges following a series of Appeal Court decisions which changed the law on money laundering.

The recent collapse of the 'Jubilee Line' fraud case in London, at a cost of £60million, also prompted reviews of cases likely to last more than three months.

Two other lawyers and three other men were also cleared yesterday.

Mr Dearing, of law firm SFN and a former public relations officer for Burnley and Pendle Law Society and former director of Burnley FC, spoke today of his delight at being cleared, but hit out at the police and said lessons should be learned.

He said: "I have been a solicitor for nearly 40 years. I have always tried to conduct myself, both in my work and in my private life, in a manner in keeping with the best traditions of an honourable and respected profession.

"I am delighted common sense has prevailed and that, after 25 months of anguish, I and my family, can put behind us the most horrendous ordeal.

"The fact that police found it necessary not only to raid my office, but also to raid my home, where they found absolutely nothing of any interest to them, is something which my wife and I will never accept as being reasonable."

He added: "I had the helpless feeling that all my explanations were being ignored and that I would have to face a trial. The relief which I feel today cannot be described."

He said: "I believe there are lessons to be learned by all involved in this type of enquiry. A great deal of hard-earned public money has been wasted. A little bit of common sense and a better system could have seen that money put to better use."

He thanked his family, friends and lawyer, Paul Schofield, for their help and support.

Mr Dearing was cleared of five charges; conspiracy to transfer the proceeds of drug trafficking, conspiracy to pervert the course of public justice, failure to disclose knowledge or suspicion of money laundering, and two offences of conspiracy to assist another to retain the benefit of drug trafficking.

Mr Greenwood, a partner at GHT in Nicholas Street, Burnley, was cleared of two offences of conspiracy to assist another to retain the benefit of drug trafficking.

A statement from Manchester-based law firm Pantone and Partners read: "The case against John Greenwood centred around involvement with conveyancing transactions a number of years ago. Where it was alleged he should have suspected that something was untoward.

"He always denied the allegation but at the same time he cob-operated with the police enquiry and gave full explanations for his conduct.

"Although shocked that he was charged in the first place he obviously welcomes the CUPS decision to withdraw all allegations at this early stage of the proceedings."

Ian Rushton, district crown prosecutor for East Lancashire, said the decision to drop the charges followed a series of cases in the Appeal Court which changed the money laundering laws.

Solicitor John Broughton, 54, of Foulridge, who runs a practice in Keighley, was cleared of a single charge of conspiracy to transfer the proceeds of drug trafficking.

Six others still face trial on conspiracy charges. They are: Cathy Glover, 40, of Wycoller Avenue, Burnley, the wife of Matthew Glover, the mastermind behind The Firm; Rosalind Glover, 45, of Keighley; Steven Glover, 46, of Leamington Avenue, Burnley; Thelma Johnstone, 41, of the same address; and Joseph Wildy.

Burnley car dealer Christopher Spokes, 37, of Brennand Street also faces deception charges.

All are on bail and a trial is expected in January.