Dr Fox trial: DJ's behaviour made colleague want to 'puke', court told

DJ Dr Neil Fox at Westminster Magistrates' Court
PA
Hannah Al-Othman9 November 2015
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A former colleague of London radio DJ Neil Fox has said his "sleazy" behaviour made her want to "puke in his face".

The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told the indecency trial at Westminster Magistrates' Court that Fox behaved "strangely" towards certain women he worked with.

Giving evidence, witnesses described alleged incidents of former Capital FM chart show host Fox touching other women and making "laddish banter" at their expense.

One former colleague said she had been told about Fox, 54, refusing to comply with instructions unless the alleged victim made her breasts "speak to him", saying: "it just seemed so strange."

The court was told that on another occasion, "Foxy" - as he was known to listeners and colleagues - allegedly told a woman he had a dream about her and that he had "woken up with a hard-on", the court heard.

A witness said: "One time he had bent her over the radio desk and simulated sex from behind with her.

"I heard him say things on occasions that I didn't think were that appropriate. It was just telling girls that they looked good but in quite a pervy way.

"He said once to a lady I worked with that he didn't know very well: 'Ooh, look at you, got your legs out today, looking good'."

The court heard that the witness told her friends she "nearly puked in his face" when she allegedly witnessed the DJ smell a woman's hair, prompting Fox, in the dock, to raise his eyebrows.

She added: "I was pretty grossed out by what I had seen. I thought it was disgusting that he would pick up someone's hair and smell it."

Another witness claimed there was a culture of "boy banter" and bravado at Capital, and that a complaint against Fox was allegedly "brushed under the carpet" to protect his name.

Asked by defence counsel Jonathan Caplan QC to elaborate on how his client was a "challenging" colleague to work with, the witness said: "I felt she (another employee) was to a degree bullied and lacking in confidence. I know she found Neil hard to control.

"I didn't know Neil very well and hadn't worked with him for very long, but I felt that he was a bit of a bully."

Another alleged victim, who used to work in the same office as Fox, said she felt "gross" after he kissed her bare shoulder.

Giving evidence from behind a screen, the woman described how she was washing up a coffee mug in the small communal kitchen when the incident happened.

She said: "Foxy came in behind me on my left-hand side and held on to my shoulder. He kissed my shoulder.

"I said: 'Oh my god, did you just kiss me?' He said: 'Yeah, you looked like you taste so...'

Asked by prosecutor John Price QC to explain how the alleged incident affected her, the witness replied. "I felt really gross. It made me feel uncomfortable."

Asked by Mr Caplan whether she thought the matter should be dealt with at a disciplinary hearing rather than a court case, the witness replied: "What happened to me was bad and shouldn't have happened.

"But for me, I don't think what he did was that bad."

She said female colleagues were told "early on just to be wary" of Fox's behaviour.

She added: "It's well known what he's like."

The trial is due to take a break later this week and resume for up to five days from November 30.

Fox, of Fulham in south west London, denies eight counts of indecent assault and two counts of sexual assault, between 1998 and 2014.

Additional reporting by Press Association

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