The reclusive Tory donor David Rowland has accused a former business associate of trying to blackmail him with an archive of emails between his son and Prince Andrew.
Rowland and his eldest son Jonathan have been embroiled in a legal fight with Michael Wright, a former lawyer who worked for them between 2008 and 2013.
Wright alleges that David Rowland promised him an option over 5% of Banque Havilland in Luxembourg, then reneged and said: “You’re not having a carried position on the f****** bank for ever.”
The Rowlands deny Wright’s claim and have tried to portray him as a “slippery solicitor”.
During a High Court trial, which ended on Thursday with judgment reserved, Jonathan said Wright had come into the “wrongful possession” of more than 30,000 emails from his personal account. David said these included exchanges with the Duke of York, one of Banque Havilland’s clients.
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David said Wright had contacted him before the trial and offered to share the emails, which he took as a “threat”. Wright denied wrongfully obtaining emails or attempting blackmail. He said he was trying to “create a link” of communication.