The charge against Shane Stafford was assault occasioning actual bodily harm. Stafford had attacked gossip columnist Gavin Legge. Legge had been engaged to Shane’s twin sister. In Shane’s view Legge had not just let down his sister, but had hounded her to suicide.

It was the custom of the Stafford clan to stick together. Shane’s attack on Legge had been public and conspicuous. The police believed they had an open-and-shut case. But did they?