City insurance coverage accused of ‘sexually assaulting financier’

A City insurance executive is accused of sexually assaulting a married financier after meeting her at the exclusive private members’ club The Ned.

Craig Brown, 61, met the alleged victim at a casual business lunch, but the court heard she consumed so much alcohol she was equivalent to four times the drink-drive limit.

Grammar school-educated Brown, the director of an insurance company based in the heart of the Square Mile, is also the former Head of Global Consultant Relations for industry giants Legal & General.

Inner London Crown Court heard a group of cricket friends saw Brown groping the woman near the entrance to Bank Underground Station at 9.30pm.

They raised the alarm, concerned that the ‘limp’ and ‘semi-conscious’ woman seemed to not be aware of what was happening, but the court heard Brown told them: ‘Nothing to worry about and nothing to see here.’

Brown, who lives in a £1.5m house in the Surrey commuter belt in Harestone Hill, Caterham pleaded not guilty to one count of assaulting the woman by penetration on July 21, in the summer of 2021.

Prosecutor Valeria Swift told the jury the professional woman was too drunk to consent to sexual activity and has no recollection of the evening after 7.00pm.

Brown joined a lunch the complainant was enjoying with a City financial consultant at the exclusive private members’ club The Ned, with membership costing £3,465 a year.

Part of the Soho House chain, the club is in the basement of The Ned Hotel which opened in the iconic Midland Bank headquarters.

Ms Swift told the court: ‘All three of them got on well and were enjoying a good drink and when the other man left, leaving the woman and this defendant, they carried on drinking.

‘This defendant took a selfie of them together and they were happy in each others company and both of them had a lot to drink.’

They continued drinking at the nearby Old Watling Pub until 7.00pm and then went to a rooftop bar, but the woman has no memory of this, the court heard.

‘CCTV in the lift shows Mr Brown putting his hand on her waist and the woman smiling and laughing and it would seem she was happy and comfortable in his company.

‘CCTV also shows a porter help her steady herself as she leaves the bar as she seemed unstable and by 9.20pm she looked decidedly drunk,’ explained the prosecutor.

‘They are again picked up on CCTV on a walkway near Bank Underground Station and this defendant kissed her and you can see her smiling, but you may conclude she was very drunk indeed.

‘She was swaying as she was walking and the CCTV shows her slump to the ground.

‘This defendant must have also been very drunk by now as he had been drinking over a considerable period of time.

‘She started smoking a cigarette and Mr Brown returned with more alcohol and is seen with a bottle of wine.

‘The defendant started to stroke her legs and her head was slumped down completely.

‘A group of friends who had just attended the cricket were passing and some of them saw kissing and others saw Mr Brown [performing sexual acts on] the woman.

‘Perhaps they were taken aback by this happening in a public place, but what struck all of the group was the state the complainant was in.

‘By this time she was unresponsive, but there were small movements of her leg, indicating she was not totally unconscious, but in a drunken stupor.

‘The group approached to confront the defendant because they came to the conclusion that what they saw was ‘not on’ and there was ‘something off’ about it.

‘They felt the defendant was taking advantage of a severely drunken semi-conscious woman.

‘As the group approached, this defendant moved and the woman completely slumped down,’ explained the prosecutor.

‘She was in such a drunken stupor she did not have the capacity to consent to sexual activity.

‘The group called the police and the woman had at least one seizure.

‘By now emotions were running high between the group and Mr Brown and he told them they had been out and that there was: ‘Nothing to worry about and nothing to see here.’

‘The group were not going anywhere and by now the woman came around and was telling them: ‘He’s a good guy.’

‘It is important to know if she had any knowledge of what had happened and this defendant cannot be guilty if she consented.’

Nine days later the woman gave a video-recorded interview to police, confirming she had been drinking wine that day and was introduced to Brown.

‘He seemed a pleasant guy and he knew his stuff and was very well-versed in the industry,’ she recalled.

‘I do not remember leaving the pub with him. It is a complete blank.

‘I vaguely remember shouting, but don’t know how that related to what happened.

‘I don’t know if I was attacked, I have no recollection. I have no recollection until the police and paramedics.’

The trial continues.