Andrew Tate trial adjourned after police reopen investigation
Four women are suing the influencer over allegations of sexual violence, including claims that he grabbed one by the throat on several occasions in 2015, assaulted her with a belt and pointed a gun at her face.
A five-week trial was due to begin in June, but at the end of a preliminary hearing today (May 5) judge Mrs Justice Lambert said she would adjourn the trial.
Three of the women are bringing the civil case after they reported allegations of rape and sexual assault against Tate to Hertfordshire Constabulary in 2014 and 2015.
The case was concluded in 2019 and in September last year, the Crown Prosecution Service said the legal test to bring criminal charges had not been met after a further review.
But in March, Herts police confirmed it would reinvestigate the alleged offences, which Tate denies.
The court was told that the reinvestigation will be run by the Major Crime Unit of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Police, and involve ten devices sized during the original investigation.
Vanessa Marshall KC, representing Tate, said in written submissions that more than half a million chat and SMS records, as well as more than half a million photos, thousands of video and audio files and other messages and emails were in the police's possession.
Ms Marshall asked for the civil trial to be paused, as there was a "real risk" that Tate would not have access to material that could help him due to the ongoing criminal reinvestigation.
She added: "If the defendant is prosecuted, the claimants will have their 'day in court'.
"If the defendant is convicted, they will see him punished. On the other hand, if the defendant is not prosecuted, or is acquitted after trial, the integrity of the civil proceedings will have been preserved – the parties can then apply to the court to lift the stay and restore proceedings."
Anne Studd KC, representing the four women in the civil claim, said that "unfortunately" the trial could not go ahead and asked for a "strict timetable" for it to be relisted.
Mrs Justice Lambert said she would give a full judgment on Wednesday, adding that there would be a "regrouping in July" and potentially "a more substantive hearing in the Michaelmas term" before Christmas.
The court also heard that Tate is bringing a legal challenge against the Crown Prosecution Service, with the first High Court hearing in the case to be heard on June 23.
The claim relates to a Bedfordshire Police investigation, known as Operation Moonwalk, with the court told Tate was charged with 10 offences, which he has denied.
Ms Marshall said that while a warrant for his extradition set out the charges Tate faces, it did not identify who had made the allegations.
