EastEnders star’s ex fiancé guilty of perverting course of justice after ‘creating false tale’ over threats against him
EASTENDERS star Gillian Taylforth's ex has been found guilty of perverting the course of justice over claims he made about threats against him.
David Fairbairn, 67, was discovered by cops with a revolver, ammunition and stun gun in his office on his remote farm following a police raid, a court heard.
A Cambridge Crown Court jury was told on Friday that the arms had been seized by police when they swooped on his property in Royston, Herts, in 2020.
The two potentially deadly weapons were located in an office on the ground floor following an extensive two-day search of the large property.
Fairbairn claimed he'd found the handgun inside a speedboat on the grounds of his farm four days before the raid and believed someone was "plotting" against him.
And he later provided information to the police concerning "threats" to his safety after he was shot in the stomach for confronting gangsters threating to burn down Taylforth's house in 2020.
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Two men had subsequently been taken into custody, with one man charged with attempted murder.
But Fairbairn was in fact "sowing a false tale" and both men had suffered as a result of their ";unexpected arrests", the court heard.
A jury ruled he had perverted the course of justice. Fairbairn pleaded guilty to possessing a revolver, a stun gun and ammunition.
At a sentencing hearing today, the prosecution outlined case against him before the judge adjourned to give his verdict on a date to be fixed.
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Nathan Rasiah, prosecuting, said the gun was found at Whitehall Farm, in Royston, where Fairbairn was living at the time, on April 15, 2020.
He said: "In the ground floor office, the following items were seized: a five-shot cylinder handgun, ammunition for that revolver, a handheld conducted energy device, sometimes known as a stun gun, and cartridges.
"The revolver was seized on the day of the search on April 15 at 18.35, and it was in a green cardboard fruit box, in a white cloth on one of the lower shelves on the lower left-hand side of the office.
"The stun gun was found at 10.45 the following day. It was found on the right-hand side of a horseshoe-shaped desk, inside an old Tesco carrier bag.
"There was also bright orange bubble wrap with three cartridges inside, which are cartridges that can be inserted into the stun gun.
"Expert examination of these items revealed the revolver is a firearm.
"It was test fired with rounds of live ammunition from a laboratory and found to function normally.
"The revolver cartridges were 2.3 short colt calibre Winchester Western brand, and they were found to be compatible with the revolver that was seized."
Fairbairn's full list of guilty pleas include possession of a firearm while prohibited and possession of ammunition without certification, among others.
And during the course of his conversation with officers, he claimed that he had sublet his barns, before adding he'd found the handgun in a speedboat.
Mr Rasiah said: "He offered the explanation that on the Friday before the search, the search having happened on a Wednesday, he had gone for a walk in the grounds and heard drilling.
"He'd gone over to the units and there was a speed boat belonging to the previous owner of that property, and within a bag, he said he found a pistol.
"He thought that someone might be plotting something, so he picked it up and took it indoors."
The court heard that Fairbairn had later submitted information to officers concerning threats against him, including after he had suffered a gunshot wound.
Mr Rasiah added: "[There were allegations] he falsely represented to the police that he had been receiving threatening messages from another person or persons, from various telephone numbers.
"But he also said he'd had meetings with people and had been threatened in person as well."
But Mr Rasiah said that Fairbairn was in fact "sowing a false tale".
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The defendant earlier pleaded guilty to possession of a prohibited weapon for the discharge of any noxious gas or liquid, possession of a firearm less than 30cm, possession of ammunition without certification and possession of a firearm when prohibited.
He will be sentenced at a later date.
