Thursday 2 October 2014 16:39, UK
Former New Zealand captain Chris Cairns has appeared in court to face a charge of perjury linked to a libel action he brought in the UK in 2012.
Cairns won £90,000 in damages after he sued Lalit Modi, founder of the Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket tournament, over an accusation of match-fixing made on Twitter in January 2010.
But the 44-year-old was accused of perjury last month and appeared on Thursday at Westminster Magistrates' Court in central London alongside barrister Andrew Fitch-Holland, who faces one count of perverting the course of justice.
During the 10-minute hearing, Cairns was told the charge was that between the 1st of October 2010 and the 31st of March 2012 he wilfully made statements which he knew to be false, namely that he had never cheated at cricket or contemplated cheating at cricket.
Fitch-Holland, 49, is charged with one count, namely that he intended to pervert the course of justice by asking Lou Vincent, the former New Zealand cricketer, to provide a false witness statement.
The pair spoke only to give their names, dates of birth and addresses and deputy chief magistrate Emma Arbuthnot passed the case on to Southwark Crown Court with the next hearing scheduled for Thursday, October 16.
The two men were given unconditional bail with lawyers indicating they would 'fully contest the allegations'. The pair left court without commenting.
