I'm so sorry.
Don't be ridiculous. Come in.
To be honest, I'm surprised you haven't cracked before now.
Who says I've cracked?
Just wandering the streets in the middle of the night?
Looking fantastic, by the way.
- I wish you'd gone to the judge. - It would've served nothing.
Uh, except the truth, that you know the man you're prosecuting.
- I don't know him. - You were tutorial partners with his wife.
- That was Holly. - Come on, Kate.
Look. I didn't come here for the lecture, so...
I know. You came for my sparkling company.
It's true I should have gone to the judge.
Or the CPS, or even Angela.
But it's too late now.
Your voice on the phone earlier,
you know what it reminded me of?
When I found you in the loo at uni, after your assault.
You'd scoured yourself to the point of breaking skin.
- Look. I don't wanna talk about that... - I know you don't. And I get it, I do.
But it's like you're being mean to yourself,
carrying the burden alone.
And I don't like it.
You never told me who it was.
- Because it doesn't matter. - Kate!
It most certainly matters.
It was Tom Southern, wasn't it?
- I knew it was a Libertine. - What?
You admitted as much.
- Look, it wasn't Tom Southern. - Then who?
Please. I am your best mate.
Why can't you tell me who did this to you?
Oh you must be joking.
Oh my God.
Oh I feel so stupid, literally staring me in the face.
Oh fucking hell, Kate.
Ugh.
Oh I wish I'd known.
It wouldn't have changed anything.
What possessed you to take this case?
Prosecuting your own...
Rapist?
No one else was qualified, not like me.
But to put yourself through this...
Ali, I had no choice.
How do you look him in the eye every day?
I've avoided it.
But that won't be possible tomorrow.
Today.
Isn't... isn't this a sackable offence?
Oh, my friend, you fucked up.
Yeah.
So today...
you've got to fuck up brilliantly.
- Hey. - I woke you. I'm sorry.
It's all right. Come in.
You're trembling.
Something terrible happened.
What?
The boys were carrying on in Alec's room, and somebody brought heroin.
Heroin?
I got Tom out of there because, well...
It's okay.
I don't wanna know.
I'm just glad you left.
You're a good friend.
I feel like I can trust you with anything.
You can.
Anything.
You can be my alibi, sweet Soph.
Why would you need an alibi?
I think I've fucked up, big time.
Hey.
Come to bed.
You okay?
I've just realised it was the same night.
What was the same night?
Us dancing,
and the night of Alec's accident.
Hmm. Was it?
Yes, it was.
Sorry. I'm sorry.
Oh! So sorry. Sorry, sorry.
Sorry. Sorry.
It's my fault.
We need to be out of the door in ten minutes.
I don't want to go to school.
Why not?
I want to watch Daddy call that lady a liar.
The Crown Court isn't a place for children.
Why not?
We got to watch him in the House of Commons.
- Well, this is different. - What's different?
Em wants to watch Daddy call that lady a liar.
Uh, well, there's no need for that.
Why would she lie about you, Daddy?
Well, because, um...
She must be confused.
Is she a bad person?
Well,
the thing is we all know how this story is going to end, don't we?
How do we know?
Because we have the utmost faith that the jury will see the truth.
And what am I, good man?
A Whitehouse.
- And what are you, my good man? - A Whitehouse.
And what is the thing about Whitehouses?
We always come out on top.
Simple as that.
- Fuck! Sorry! - Daddy!
Fucking... Sorry. Sorry.
It's bloody hot!
Don't worry.
Tell me everything's gonna be okay.
Everything's going to be okay.
- Here he comes! - Mr. Whitehouse!
Mrs. Whitehouse!
- Get back. Come on. - Mr. Whitehouse!
Does the prime minister still have confidence in your husband?
- You sure? - One's my limit.
I do admire people with that sort of restraint.
- You wouldn't want to see me shaking. - I would, actually.
I beg your pardon?
Your charm is a plus, but your certitude won't serve us today.
I didn't rape her.
Of that I am certain.
And yet, you are a modern man.
A Conservative, but a feminist nonetheless.
Which is why, as you told me,
the thought that any woman...
For her own set of surely complicated reasons,
for which you have great sympathy,
The thought that any woman
could so misread and misrepresent what happened in that lift,
that is what has shaken you to the core...
and that is what the jury needs to see.
Oh, one other thing.
Kate Woodcroft.
Don't underestimate her,
don't let her catch you off-guard,
and don't stray from the main issue.
Consent.
ALISON JESSOP
Can you believe it? It just stopped working.
Two hundred bloody quid, lasted less than six months.
Cheeky bugger.
Speaking of cheeky buggers,
I understand that old bird isn't giving up.
Which old bird?
The one who was making up stories about my client from his uni days.
She keeps pestering the cops to locate the girl.
I thought the girl was dead.
No. The mum said she went to Australia.
Same thing.
- Do you want me to check with the officer? - Yes, if you could.
My solicitor says the cops keep telling her to piss off.
The old bird, not the girl in Australia.
Are you coming?
Or am I arguing both sides today?
Be upstanding in court.
Can you swear in the witness?
Can you read the words on the card?
I swear by Almighty God that the evidence I shall give
shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
Miss Regan, you may begin.
Thank you. And good morning, My Lord.
Can you give your full name to the court, please?
Yes. My name is James Charles Whitehouse.
Are you a family man, Mr. Whitehouse?
I am.
In that case, how do you reconcile your affair with Miss Lytton?
My affair with Miss Lytton was wrong.
It was the worst thing I have ever done.
Then why did you allow it to happen?
We were attracted to one another, deeply.
I think we both tried to resist it,
but there was a charge there from the beginning.
Had you ever had an affair with a colleague before, Mr. Whitehouse?
A subordinate?
Never. I've never had an affair, full stop.
I love my wife, I love my family.
Is there a strict hierarchy in your office?
It's not about hierarchy, it's about working together.
Believe me, if the best idea came from the most junior member of staff,
I'd adopt it.
But in order for a working environment to thrive, people need to feel safe,
that boundaries will be respected.
If a Member of Parliament said they were having a relationship with an employee,
I would give them chapter and verse on the ways in which one cannot do that.
And yet?
I made a mistake.
The affair lasted five months.
If you knew it was wrong, why did you continue to allow yourself to be mistaken?
I had never intended to have an affair with Miss Lytton,
but once we started, it was difficult for us to stop.
And why was that?
We cared for one another.
- And we had a lot in common, actually. - Such as?
Politics.
We could argue the merits of a position or a protocol for days.
The angles, how each would play.
Olivia loves policy.
She forgets nothing.
And I relied on her for her incisive mind.
So after the first encounter, the relationship continued.
Did you give her gifts?
I sent her flowers on occasion.
And yes, I did give her a special gift for her birthday.
What was the gift?
A necklace. Platinum with a charm shaped like a key.
A key?
How did you intend for her to interpret that?
Just as a token.
A sign that she'd become integral to my...
Just that I valued her.
And for the sake of the timeline, when was Miss Lytton's birthday?
Late July.
Do you remember the exact date?
The 23rd of July.
Hang on, hang on, hang on.
Okay. Is it better?
Yes, much. I can hear you now.
Hi, hi, hi.
Can you take a video for me?
I will. I promise I will.
Do you want us to come home?
- Do you want us to come home early? - Yes, please.
But no, I would never do that to you. Have fun.
Why can't you sneak out here and join us? Come on.
I wish I could, but I have a pile of things to wade through here.
Don't work too hard.
I won't.
- I miss you all. - Miss you, Daddy.
- Miss you, Daddy! - Miss you!
Bye.
- I miss you. - Bye, bye.
Bye.
You valued her.
You gave her an expensive gift that said as much.
Would it be fair to say that at this point the relationship was serious?
Well, yes.
Miss Lytton has told us that she was in love with you.
Was that feeling mutual?
I think it's a possibility.
Yes.
Yes, I was.
We were equally invested in each other.
Which is why I...
What was your reaction when you were told that Olivia Lytton
had accused you of rape?
I was gobsmacked.
I literally did not understand what I was being told.
That is the degree to which those words did not compute.
I'd like to take you back to what happened
in the committee room corridor on the morning of the 12th of October.
James.
I can't deal with this shit.
Just to be clear, who called the lift?
- It was Olivia. - She said in her evidence that it was you.
It was Olivia.
Do you know why?
No. I followed her after she called to me and said...
James.
- Where are you going? - Where are you going?
What did you take that to mean?
She knew I was upset about the article in The Times.
I assumed she was leading me somewhere where we could discuss how to handle it.
How could you tell all that?
We had a shorthand, as colleagues do.
What about the fact that she'd also been your lover?
That wasn't on my mind at that moment.
I genuinely wanted her opinion on the article.
What happened when the lift arrived?
James.
I followed her in.
What were you hoping to discuss exactly?
The article's accusation of arrogance, it rocked me,
and I thought of all the people in the world, she would put me right.
So once in the lift, did you talk?
No.
What happened?
She looked at me in a certain way that we had.
Did you approach her?
No. She reached up to kiss me.
How can you be so sure she initiated the kiss?
- Because she reached up for my face. - James.
I remember being struck by it.
After that we were in sync, as it was with us.
What do you mean by that?
I put my arms around her in an embrace.
We were kissing.
She moved one of my hands down to her bottom.
Miss Lytton claims you wrenched her blouse open.
She's lying, I'm sorry to say.
She helped me unbutton it.
I'm not a man who wrenches blouses open.
I'm not a brute.
And what about the laddered tights?
Well, it must have happened when she tugged them down.
I tried to help, but things were pretty heated by that point.
- Heated? - We were hungry for one another.
And the underwear with the ripped elastic,
can you say how it came to be damaged?
No.
It may have snagged when she pulled it down.
I don't remember the sound of a rip.
But, uh...
But what, Mr. Whitehouse?
Well, Miss Lytton's underwear
tended to be
insubstantial.
How do you account for the bruise on Miss Lytton's breast?
The result of an over-exuberant love bite.
Had that happened before?
Love bites? Yes, it was something she wanted when we made love.
Something I did in the throes...
- And so... - A bruise was not the goal.
I hope it goes without saying.
Consent.
Mr. Whitehouse, the jury are here to consider the issue of consent.
The question of yes and no,
as my learned friend would have it.
Miss Lytton's evidence is that you said,
"Don't be such a prick-tease."
Now that would suggest
that you knew she didn't want sex.
Did you say that?
- No. - Did you say "don't tease me"?
- No. - Or some other use of the word "tease"?
We didn't talk.
Miss Lytton's evidence is that she said, "Not here."
Did you hear her say that?
I'm telling you, no words were exchanged.
The only conversation we had was physical.
We were well acquainted with one another's bodies and signals by this point.
Is it possible she could have said it and you didn't hear her?
No.
We were in very close proximity.
Miss Lytton was giving me every indication
that this was something she very much wanted.
And I'm sorry to say, I didn't need any convincing.
Are you sure Miss Lytton was consenting to intercourse?
That she was saying, essentially, yes?
Not only was she consenting,
she was insisting.
She was saying, "Hell yes."
Are you certain of this, Mr. Whitehouse?
I have never been more certain of anything.
Thank you.
That's all I have to ask, My Lord.
Mr. Whitehouse, I want to go straight to the day this incident occurred.
You were due to address the Home Affairs Select Committee meeting.
- Isn't that right? - Yes.
- On a key issue? - Yes.
- The meeting was just about to start. - Correct.
- In how long, Mr. Whitehouse? - I don't know. Not long.
A matter of minutes?
- Yes. - So not very long.
What were you planning to do in that time?
Just get my bearings back, I suppose.
Were you planning to have sex in those few minutes, Mr. Whitehouse?
No, of course not.
Was that part of getting your bearings back?
No.
So when you charged off down the hallway
in the opposite direction of the meeting you were due to attend,
where were you going?
Nowhere in particular. I was upset.
Because you'd been called arrogant by The Times?
I didn't think it was fair.
So you weren't looking for somewhere to have private sex?
No, I wasn't.
And yet, Mr. Whitehouse, within a minute or so,
that's exactly what you were doing.
Having sex in a lift with your ex-mistress.
That was not the plan.
I just have a few more points to clarify.
Miss Lytton says you wrenched her blouse open.
I did not.
You're a strong man, Mr. Whitehouse.
A former Oxford rowing Blue, I understand.
An athlete.
And you can state to a certainty
that you've never wrenched a woman's blouse in a moment of passion?
I can.
Miss Lytton says you ripped her underwear in the lift.
I didn't rip her underwear.
- Oh, they ripped by themselves then? - No.
That's how, what was your word, "insubstantial" the underwear was?
You have expertise when it comes to the substantiality of a woman's underwear?
- My Lord. - Miss Woodcroft.
This wasn't a normal situation for you, was it?
What do you mean?
Unless, of course, having upright sex with a woman
while you were travelling from A to B was normal for you?
No, it wasn't normal.
Never happened before?
Never.
You and Miss Lytton had had sex in the Commons before on two occasions.
Uh, yes.
So you might have reasonably expected for her to be willing to do this again?
To have sex with you in another Commons setting?
Perhaps. Just not at that particular moment.
You were enraged when you entered the lift, weren't you?
- No. - You were angry about the article.
A bit frustrated, not... not enraged.
To be clear, it was fast, what happened in the lift.
- Over in less than a minute or two? - Yes.
So let me ask you again, Mr. Whitehouse,
when you entered the lift, were you hoping that sex might take place?
Uh, no. Not initially.
So what happened? What suddenly made you want to have sex?
As I said, she looked at me,
and It became pretty clear, pretty quickly, that was going to happen.
I didn't enter the lift thinking that was going to happen.
So you enter the lift, she looks at you in a certain way,
and then you immediately collide and kiss?
Not immediately, no.
And then your hand is on her bottom?
She guided my hand there.
It's a very small lift, a little more than a metre wide.
How close would you say you were, exactly?
Uh, we were kissing, being intimate.
So very close?
Ten or 20 centimetres apart, or perhaps less even?
Yes, I suppose.
So if she'd said "not here," you'd have heard her?
Yes, but she never said anything.
No words were spoken?
None.
You say you are not a brutish man.
You'd have stopped if you'd heard her say "not here."
Of course I would have, but she didn't say that.
She told us she did tell you to stop.
She's mistaken.
- She said, "Not here." - She didn't.
You entered her even though you knew she was telling you no.
No.
And yet you told her, "Don't be such a prick-tease."
I should go.
Well, if I don't know you, I should.
Don't be such a prick-tease.
Mr. Whitehouse?
Mr. Whitehouse, do you need me to repeat the question?
I've already told you that I did not say that.
Perhaps it is your hearing which is suspect, Miss Woodcroft.
What does that word mean, Mr. Whitehouse?
Which word?
"Prick-tease."
That's academic, I didn't say it.
- But you understand what it means? - Of course.
Well, tell us, please.
It's a woman who sexually arouses a man and doesn't plan on following through.
But I didn't say it. It's a foul word.
And why is it a foul word?
It's demeaning and presumptuous.
Anything else?
Misogynistic.
So if a man did say it to a woman, do you agree
he would be admonishing her for not wanting sex?
If a man said it, but this man did not.
So just to be absolutely clear,
is it your evidence that you did not say "don't be such a prick-tease,"
because that is something you would never say?
- Yes. - You have never said it before?
Not to anyone?
I have not.
So when Miss Lytton tells us
you said, "Don't be such a prick-tease," she must be lying.
Sadly.
She's lying when she says you raped her?
She is.
Has anyone ever said no to you, Mr. Whitehouse?
That's an absurd question.
Is it inconceivable that Miss Lytton would say no to you?
Of course not. But in this instance, we were both saying yes.
- You're sure of that? - Yes.
Do you know of any reason why Miss Lytton
might make a false allegation of rape against you?
No, and it makes me worried about her, to be honest.
But she doesn't gain any advantage by doing this, does she?
- Advantage? - In terms of her career.
It's not going to help her career, is it?
So it appears that after you end the relationship,
she continues to work for you,
and then when you show her you want her,
which is what she wants, she accuses you of rape.
Have I got that right?
Look, I can see how that sounds.
It sounds very unlikely, doesn't it?
Destroying my career was perhaps her goal.
Why?
Surely there are less catastrophic ways for her to express her hurt?
She could have told your wife.
All I meant to say, Miss Woodcroft,
is that careers hang in the balance in cases like these.
There is no doubt.
The stakes couldn't be higher.
I see what you're doing.
Painting me as arrogant,
a man without doubts or qualms.
Calling me entitled, essentially.
That I'm some kind of privileged beast
brought up to believe he can take whatever he wants.
The thing is, I'm not that man.
Is that right, Mr. Whitehouse?
Was I born into fortunate circumstances? Yes.
I attended good schools,
But I have spent my entire career in service
to my community, my constituents, and my country.
You're not suggesting that a lifetime of service
entitles you to rape?
- My Lord! - Miss Woodcroft.
How dare you?
I appear to have hit a nerve.
Miss Woodcroft, enough.
For the record, I have replayed the events with Miss Lytton in the lift
over and over and over again in my head,
asking myself could I have possibly got it wrong?
I didn't.
And for the record, I have also replayed other moments from my past,
where the sex was as unbridled as it was spontaneous.
I was very sexually robust in my youth,
and, yes, I have reflected.
But, Miss Woodcroft, I can look you in the eye
and say that I know in my heart, in my soul,
and in every fibre of my being,
that I have never crossed the line.
I'm not asking you about your past, Mr. Whitehouse,
or your sexually robust youth.
Only whether or not in this instance
you could have reasonably believed that Olivia Lytton gave you her consent.
But the past informs the present, doesn't it?
As I re-examine my past encounters,
as I replay what happened in that lift,
I remain convinced, and adamantly so,
that I've never overridden the will or wishes of a woman,
and I have never had sex that was not 100% consensual.
Because when we talk about consent,
we're talking about ethics.
I'm someone who finds unethical behaviour repugnant.
And I wonder, Miss Woodcroft...
do you?
I'm not here to answer your questions, Mr. Whitehouse.
I am here to put the Crown's case.
And as I have said from the beginning, my case is a very simple one.
Olivia Lytton made it clear to you
that she did not want to have sex.
Isn't that right?
No. She said nothing.
- That's why you called her a prick-tease. - I never said that.
You can't very well admit it. Can you, Mr. Whitehouse?
Because that word in that sentence
demonstrates you knew full well she didn't want to have sex with you.
She wouldn't give you what you wanted,
and that is why you had to force yourself on her.
I didn't force myself on her.
And that's why she's accused you of rape.
I am not a rapist!
I did not rape her!
The word "rape" and my name
have nothing to do with each other!
I have no further questions for this witness.
Miss Regan?
Nothing, My Lord.
Can you return to the dock, please, Mr. Whitehouse?
Two Ns?
Are you sure, Krystyna?
Yes, I'm sure.
Two Ns, two Ps.
When will they be home?
Uh... Oh, soon. We need to start assembling.
Any comment on today's testimony? Sophie!
Drive. Hurry, please.
Please forgive me.
- For what? - For saying I was in love with her.
I had to make the relationship sound real. It was purely strategic.
Advice from your barrister or Chris Clarke?
Just... instinct.
But I want you to know it's not true.
That was cracking, Kate.
I doubt he's ever had a woman talk to him that way.
- Just take these back to Chambers, then? - Yes, please.
I see what you're doing.
Careers hang in the balance in cases like this.
- Do I know you? - It's Holly.
Well, if I don't know you, I should.
Miss Woodcroft?
Mrs. Whitehouse!
Hello?
Come on.
Hello?
Happy anniversary!
- Are you surprised? - Yes.
How lovely. Thank you.
- Thank you so much. - Thank you.
Do you want some cake?
Uh, who says no to cake? Right?
Do you know what? I, um...
Quite a lot of excitement today.
I'll be back.
Uh, one sec, guys.
Sophie?
I'll be back.
Daddy, do you want some cake?
Yes, cake.
- Hey. - Where are you?
Chambers.
Still?
I need to refine my closing.
Did you fuck up brilliantly today?
I think so.
But so did he.
Hmm. You okay?
Unclear.
I got through it, at least.
You need company? Chocolates?
Both.
But I need to work.
I'm here.
And I love you for that.
This is going to end.
One way or the other.
I vote for the former.
Thanks, lovely.
Mrs. Whitehouse.
Miss Woodcroft.