'I was a fool' says City lawyer who poured beer over woman at rowing club Christmas dinner

Allegations: Alastair Main has denied racially aggravated assault and sexual assault
Tony Palmer
Tom Powell3 January 2017
WEST END FINAL

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A City lawyer has admitted he acted “like a fool" by tipping his beer over a woman who allegedly rejected his advances at a Christmas party.

But Alastair Main, 35, denies lifting up the woman’s skirt and slapped her bottom five times at London Rowing Club in Putney in December 2015.

The former captain of the prestigious rowing club also denies a charge of racially aggravated assault, claiming he did not make reference to the woman's nationality during the alleged attack.

The woman, in her 20s, who gave evidence at an earlier hearing from behind a screen, said she had turned down Main's request for a hug at the bar following the meal.

Prosecutor Paul Douglass, cross-examining Main at Wimbledon Magistrates Court, put it to him that the argument began when the woman rejected him.

He said: "She rejected you sexually by refusing to give you a hug.

"The reason you poured your beer over her is because you had been rejected by her."

But Main, who was captain of the rowing club between 2013 and 2014, said he had not asked her for a hug, saying they had had a conversation during which they both became "upset".

He alleged the woman "slapped" him in the face after the exchange but then followed her when she went to another room in the clubhouse.

Wearing a grey suit, white shirt and blue-and-white spotted tie as he appeared in the witness box, he said: "We were both quite emotional and upset. She was certainly angry.

"I followed her ... I found her crouched by her bag. I poured what remained of my beer on top of her. "

"She was startled by this and jumped up and said 'what are you doing, what have you done?'

"I did not hang around, I turned on my heels and walked out."

A short time later he saw the woman heading for the ladies' toilet and again went after her in order, he claimed, to apologise.

He said: "I went in to speak to her. I was still in shock at what happened, I felt remorse at having done something so stupid as soaking her in beer."

But he said the woman was "dismissive" of his attempts to "make amends".

He denied lifting her skirt and slapping her bottom several times, as well as the woman's claims that he began slapping her head, pushing her around and asking if she was "wearing any knickers", but said he did put his hands on her waist.

One witness, Jacqueline Grosch, previously told the court Main had been "very aggressive" and had the woman "pushed up against a wall".

But he said: "Jacqui came between us and took me by the arms and said 'leave her'. I said 'take your hands off me, don't touch me'.

"I felt there was no need to handle me, I was not being aggressive.

"I did not ask her if she was wearing knickers. I did not do any of those things."

But Main said: "I was behaving like a fool."

He also admitted calling her a "slut" as they continued the argument outside the clubhouse but strongly denied using a racial slur.

"I remember using the word slut because I thought that that would hurt her," he said. "I'm not a racist person so I don't think I did say it (reference her nationality)."

Main, from Kingston upon Thames, accepted he was drunk on the night of the incident after meeting friends ahead of a champagne reception before the club's Christmas dinner.

He broke down in tears in the dock as character references were read to the court, suggesting he was "not racist" and "always respectful to women".

Eloise Marshall, acting for Main, argued her client had not slapped the woman after lifting the skirt and suggested she may have "exaggerated" the incident.

The victim strongly denied the allegation when giving evidence in October.

Additional reporting by the Press Association.

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