EVE - BBC PRESENTER CLEARED OF RAPE

A BBC Radio 4 presenter has been found not guilty of raping a man he met at a New Year's Eve party.

Nigel Wrench, 47, had denied a charge of raping a 27-year-old at his flat in Finsbury Park, north London, saying he had consensual sex with the alleged victim.

Mr Wrench, a presenter on Radio 4's PM programme, told the Old Bailey he had taken cocaine with the man - who cannot be named for legal reasons - at a party in Kennington, south London, before inviting him back to his north London residence.

"I said to him 'Let's go to bed'. He smiled and said yes," Mr Wrench told the court.

However he denied the prosecution's claim that he had drugged the man and forced him to perform a sex act.

"The last thing - that is the irony of the situation, isn't it? - I would have done is to harm him," he added.

Sarah Forshaw, defending, had urged the jury to ignore any feelings of "repugnance" or "moral indignation" they may have felt about what they had heard during the trial.

Jurors had earlier been ordered to return not guilty verdicts on charges of sexual assault and supplying the sleeping pill Temazepam with the intention to engage in sexual activity.

Judge Michael Shamrock indicated there was insufficient evidence for a conviction on either count.

After today's verdict, Mr Wrench - who is HIV positive - put his hands together and mouthed "thank you" towards the jury.

The Old Bailey had been told the alleged victim also has HIV.