Eleanor Poppy Miranda de Freitas (26 June 1990 – 4 April 2014) was an English woman who committed suicide three days before the commencement of her trial for perverting the course of justice for allegedly making a false accusation of rape. Her death prompted a debate over whether prosecuting people accused of making a false accusation of rape could deter rape victims from reporting the crime, as well as whether it was appropriate to prosecute vulnerable individuals (de Freitas had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and depression and was judged by a psychiatrist to represent a suicide risk). The decision to prosecute de Freitas was ultimately upheld by both the

Director of Public Prosecutions The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) is the office or official charged with the prosecution of criminal offences in several criminal jurisdictions around the world. The title is used mainly in jurisdictions that are or have been members o ...

and the Attorney General for England and Wales, while the

Metropolitan Police Service The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), formerly and still commonly known as the Metropolitan Police (and informally as the Met Police, the Met, Scotland Yard, or the Yard), is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement and ...

paid compensation to the accused man, albeit without admitting liability. From a legal perspective, the case was notable due to the use of a

private prosecution A private prosecution is a criminal law, criminal proceeding initiated by an individual private citizen or private organisation (such as a prosecution association) instead of by a public prosecutor who represents the State (polity), state. Private p ...

(relatively uncommon under English law) and, subsequently, the first successful employment of a

public interest defence In the context of secrecy laws, a public interest defence is a defence that allows a defendant who disclosed classified or protected information to avoid criminality by establishing that the public interest in disclosure of the information out ...

to a charge of

defamation Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defini ...

Timeline of events

Background

Eleanor Poppy Miranda de Freitas was born on 26 June 1990 and grew up in Fulham, London. She attended the

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

Putney High School, achieving straight As in her A Level exams. In 2008 she enrolled in Grey College,

Durham University , mottoeng = Her foundations are upon the holy hills (Psalm 87:1) , established = (university status) , type = Public , academic_staff = 1,830 (2020) , administrative_staff = 2,640 (2018/19) , chancellor = Sir Thomas Allen , vice_chan ...

to study geography. During her first year, she suffered a

mental breakdown A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitti ...

. She was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and depression and began seeing a

psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry, the branch of medicine devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, study, and treatment of mental disorders. Psychiatrists are physicians and evaluate patients to determine whether their sy ...

, who prescribed her

antidepressant Antidepressants are a class of medication used to treat major depressive disorder, anxiety disorders, chronic pain conditions, and to help manage addictions. Common side-effects of antidepressants include dry mouth, weight gain, dizziness, hea ...

s. At the end of the 2008/09 academic year, de Freitas dropped out of Durham University. In February 2012, de Freitas had another mental breakdown. She accused her parents of trying to poison her and her landlord of sexually assaulting her; went on unaffordable shopping sprees; and became delusional. She was involuntarily committed under the Mental Health Act 1983 and spent a month in Ealing Hospital, where she was reportedly mentally and physically abused. After successfully challenging her detention at a

Mental Health Review Tribunal A mental health tribunal is a specialist tribunal (hearing) empowered by law to adjudicate disputes about mental health treatment and detention, primarily by conducting independent reviews of patients diagnosed with mental disorders who are det ...

and being released, de Freitas began living alone with support from her parents and working part-time in a branch of The Body Shop on King's Road in Chelsea. Unbeknown to her parents, she reportedly also worked as a tantric masseuse and escort. In summer 2013, she began training as an

accountant An accountant is a practitioner of accounting or accountancy. Accountants who have demonstrated competency through their professional associations' certification exams are certified to use titles such as Chartered Accountant, Chartered Certifi ...

Rape allegations

In 2008 or 2009, de Freitas met Alexander Economou, the sometime company secretary of his family-run shipping agency. They became acquaintances after attending the same party in Chelsea in October 2012. On 23 December 2012, de Freitas and Economou met alone for the first and only time and had sex. The following day, they went shopping together, including a trip to an

Ann Summers Ann Summers is a British multinational retailer company specialising in sex toys and lingerie, with 80 high street stores in the UK, Ireland, and the Channel Islands. In 2000, Ann Summers acquired the Knickerbox brand, a label with an emphas ...

sex shop. Subsequently, Economou ended the relationship with de Freitas; de Freitas was upset by the ending of the relationship, and made this known to others, including sending a text to one friend saying Economou had "fucked her and chucked her" and to another saying "I don't understand what I have done wrong???". On 4 January 2013, de Freitas alleged to the

that Economou had raped her. In an interview with police, she asserted that she "wasn't in control of my body" due to combining alcohol with her bipolar medicine and was unable to consent; that Economou had "drugged" her; that she had been "frozen with fear"; and that Economou had coerced her into allowing him to tie her up, " waterboard" her, and have unprotected sex with her. Economou was arrested and spent a night in custody. On 20 February 2013, the Police decided to take no further action against Economou; he was never charged. Economou asserted that the sex had been consensual; that he had ended the relationship on 24 December 2012 contending de Freitas was working as a tantric masseuse and after receiving "crazy" text messages from de Freitas; and that de Freitas had fabricated the rape claim "as an act of revenge, because I rejected her".

Prosecution

In August 2013, Economou launched a

of de Freitas for perverting the course of justice at a cost of approximately £200,000. Economou amassed witness statements, text messages and

closed-circuit television Closed-circuit television (CCTV), also known as video surveillance, is the use of video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place, on a limited set of monitors. It differs from broadcast television in that the signal is not openly t ...

footage that he contended contradicted the account of de Freitas, including footage of de Freitas and himself shopping together for sex toys at an

shop on the day following the alleged rape and text messages de Freitas had sent to mutual friends. Upon receiving the

summons A summons (also known in England and Wales as a claim form and in the Australian state of New South Wales as a court attendance notice (CAN)) is a legal document issued by a court (a ''judicial summons'') or by an administrative agency of governme ...

on 13 August 2013, de Freitas reportedly had a panic attack. She engaged a defence solicitor who invited Keir Starmer, the

of the Crown Prosecution Service, to use his statutory power to take over the private prosecution and end it. However, in December 2013, the Crown Prosecution Service instead announced that it would take over and continue the prosecution. De Freitas subsequently enquired whether there was scope to seek an

injunction An injunction is a legal and equitable remedy in the form of a special court order that compels a party to do or refrain from specific acts. ("The court of appeals ... has exclusive jurisdiction to enjoin, set aside, suspend (in whole or in pa ...

against reporting on the prosecution. The Metropolitan Police Service officers who had investigated the alleged rape refused to support the Crown Prosecution Service but were overruled. De Freitas was arraigned at Southwark Crown Court on 24 January 2014, pleading not guilty. Rape counselling services were withdrawn from de Freitas upon the commencement of the prosecution (in March 2015, Member of Parliament Valerie Vaz asked Solicitor General for England and Wales Robert Buckland to "review the guidance to ensure that the provision of support and counselling services to vulnerable people is not removed abruptly"). De Freitas became "severely" depressed and her behaviour became erratic, including claiming she was being followed and that her phone was being tapped and wearing a burqa when going out in public. In September 2013, she was found in a branch of

Co-op Food Co-op Food is a brand used for the food retail business of The Co-operative Group in the United Kingdom. Prior to reintroducing the brand in 2016, the group used " The Co-operative" branding, which is still used by a number of consumers' co- ...

on Strand throwing crisp packets and shouting at staff. In December 2013, de Freitas attempted to drive from London to Northamptonshire to spend Christmas with her family but, after taking a wrong turn on the

A1 road A list of roads designated A1, sorted by alphabetical order of country. * A01 highway (Afghanistan), a long ring road or beltway connecting Kabul, Kandahar, Herat and Mazar * A1 motorway (Albania), connecting Durrës and Kukës * A001 highwa ...

, continued driving until running out of petrol; her father characterised this as disorientation stemming from trauma. A psychiatric report prepared for the Crown Prosecution Service stated that de Freitas was fit to stand trial but required constant evaluation as she posed a "chronic and significant" suicide risk. Her doctor did not prescribe lithium for her bipolar disorder as de Freitas suffered from a fear of needles.

Suicide

On 4 April 2014, de Freitas committed suicide by hanging herself at her family home in

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...

, London. Her trial for perverting the course of justice had been due to commence on 7 April. She left a suicide note in which she stated, "If I were to lose the case I know that I would have brought huge shame on the family. It's entirely my fault for what has happened and there are many other events which make me make this decision." She also expressed fears about potentially having to testify in court in her defence and stated she was "ashamed to be British". De Freitas had previously expressed fears about being involuntarily committed once again. At an

inquest An inquest is a judicial inquiry in common law jurisdictions, particularly one held to determine the cause of a person's death. Conducted by a judge, jury, or government official, an inquest may or may not require an autopsy carried out by a coro ...

held by the

West London Coroner's Court The Coroner's Court for west London is located at Bagleys Lane, Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thame ...

in March 2015, coroner Chinyere Inyama recorded a verdict of suicide by hanging and noted that the impending trial had been a "significant stressor" on de Freitas. A call by solicitor

Harriet Wistrich Harriet Katherine Wistrich (born 1960) is an English solicitor and radical feminist who specialises in human-rights cases, particularly cases involving women who have been sexually assaulted or who have killed their violent partners.Gupta, Rahi ...

on behalf of de Freitas' family to widen the scope of the inquest to assess whether the Crown Prosecution Service had breached the

right to life The right to life is the belief that a being has the right to live and, in particular, should not be killed by another entity. The concept of a right to life arises in debates on issues including capital punishment, with some people seeing it as ...

enshrined in the

Human Rights Act 1998 The Human Rights Act 1998 (c. 42) is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom which received royal assent on 9 November 1998, and came into force on 2 October 2000. Its aim was to incorporate into UK law the rights contained in the European Con ...

by prosecuting de Freitas was unsuccessful. The call for a special inquest was supported by Emily Thornberry, the then- Shadow Attorney General for England and Wales.

Reaction

Following de Freitas' suicide, her father David criticised the decision to prosecute her, stating, "We can see no reason whatsoever why the CPS pursued Eleanor. If the CPS had put a stop to it at the time I would still have a daughter." David de Freitas suggested that de Freitas had feared once again being involuntarily committed and was embarrassed that "extraneous evidence" would emerge during the trial alleging work in the sex industry. De Freitas had been concerned about having to testify in her defence in court; delays by the Crown Prosecution Service in providing a record of her interview with police to her defence solicitor meant they were unable to confirm that she would not be required to testify until the morning of her death (a court order requiring the Crown Prosecution Service to disclose all evidence at least six weeks prior to the trial was not complied with). The Crown Prosecution Service later apologised for the delay in the disclosure of the evidence, whilst still blaming the police for the delay. The decision to prosecute de Freitas was also criticised by the organisation

Women Against Rape Women Against Rape (WAR) is a UK organisation founded in 1976. In their original Statement of Aims, they demanded: recognition of rape of every kind; not just by strangers but by husbands, fathers and stepfathers. They demanded that every woman ...

, which argued that the "aggressive pursuit" of women accused of making false allegations of rape in the United Kingdom was deterring rape victims from reporting the crime to the police. The charity Victim Support released a statement expressing concerns about the use of private prosecutions to "intimidate" people making allegations of rape, while the charity

Justice for Women Julie Bindel (born 20 July 1962) is an English radical feminist writer. She is also co-founder of the law reform group Justice for Women, which has aimed to help women who have been prosecuted for assaulting or killing violent male partners. ...

stated "the public interest is always overwhelmingly in favour of not prosecuting a rape complainant" and "it is imperative that the overwhelming public interest in improving the UK's appallingly low conviction rate for rape offences is considered by all prosecutors when deciding whether to charge women for perverting the course of justice". Lisa Avalos, of the Louisiana State University

Paul M. Hebert Law Center The Paul M. Hebert Law Center, often styled "LSU Law", is a public law school in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. It is part of the Louisiana State University System and located on the main campus of Louisiana State University. Because Louisiana is a c ...

, stated that the United Kingdom makes significantly more prosecutions for false rape allegations than the United States, and that these carry a charge of perverting the course of justice (with a maximum sentence of life in prison) rather than false reporting (which carries lighter penalties such as community service, fines, or probation). The charity

Inquest An inquest is a judicial inquiry in common law jurisdictions, particularly one held to determine the cause of a person's death. Conducted by a judge, jury, or government official, an inquest may or may not require an autopsy carried out by a coro ...

cited statistics showing "no country pursues the prosecution of disbelieved rape complainants with the frequency that occurs in Britain". Writing in January 2022,

of the Centre for Women's Justice stated that " bipolar disorder, the illness that Eleanor was diagnosed with, can cause hypersexuality during manic episodes" and that "it is an enduring tragedy for Eleanor's family that the CPS pursued this prosecution when a psychiatric report warned of the risk of completed suicide." Writing in '' The Critic'' in February 2022, Julie Bindel stated that "the CPS is advised to exercise extreme caution when deciding whether to prosecute on suspicion of making a false allegation, especially if the person is vulnerable or if it is unclear whether the accusation was made maliciously". An alternative view was expressed by journalist Radhika Sanghani, who wrote that "false rape allegations can have devastating consequences for the accused" and noted that over a 17 month period in 2011 to 2012 there were only 35 prosecutions for false rape allegations in England and Wales, compared to 5,651 prosecutions for rape. Sarah Green of the

End Violence Against Women Coalition End Violence Against Women Coalition (EVAW) is a UK-based coalition of individuals and organisations which campaigns to end all forms of violence against women. It was founded in 2005 and became a registered charity 31 March 2015. History The ...

opined, "We must prosecute these cases if someone's trying to maliciously get someone into trouble." In the 2019 publication ''Personal Participation in Criminal Proceedings'', Dr. Kate Leader wrote that the case "has drawn attention to the issues that can arise from private prosecutions". In mid-2020, the House of Commons Justice Select Committee made a call for evidence on an inquiry into the use of private prosecutions. The Centre for Women's Justice provided written evidence to the inquiry in which it stated "Eleanor, for example, was never interviewed as a suspect; she sat in the dock without having ever been arrested, or her rights explained to her as a defendant, and without having had the opportunity to respond to the allegations against her."

Subsequent legal proceedings

De Freitas' suicide prompted

Alison Saunders Dame Alison Margaret Saunders, ( Brown; born 14 February 1961) is a British barrister and a former Director of Public Prosecutions. She was the first lawyer from within the Crown Prosecution Service and the second woman to hold the appointment. ...

to review the decision to prosecute. In December 2014, Saunders concluded that it had been correct to do so, stating that there was "sufficient evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction" and "a strong public interest in prosecuting". Saunders also stated that medical experts had advised that de Freitas was fit to stand trial. After de Freitas' father David called for a new inquiry or a review to be carried out, in June 2018, Attorney General for England and Wales Jeremy Wright decided not to order an independent inquiry into the decision to prosecute, stating, "I have carefully considered the concerns raised by Mr de Freitas and I am satisfied that this case has already been subject to extensive scrutiny within the CPS, and that it was right for the prosecution to go ahead." In December 2014, Alexander Economou began a

libel Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defini ...

claim against David de Freitas, asserting that articles critical of the Crown Prosecution Service appearing in '' The Daily Telegraph'' and '' The Guardian'' and an interview with John Humphrys on the '' Today'' programme broadcast on '' BBC Radio 4'' had resulted in his enduring "public rubbishing" and damaged his reputation. The claim was dismissed in July 2016 with the judge ruling that, while the publications had defamatory meaning and had caused harm to Economou's reputation, this was justified given de Freitas had considered the articles and broadcast to be in the public interest and that ruling in favour of Economou would represent a disproportionate infringement upon de Freitas'

freedom of speech Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recogni ...

. The judge stated "When a person suffering from mental ill-health kills herself at a time when she is facing public prosecution for making a false allegation of rape there is a clear public interest in considering whether there is a causal link and, if so, whether the decision-making was at fault and there are lessons to be learned." This represented the first time a

had been successfully mounted under the Defamation Act 2013. An appeal by Economou against the ruling was dismissed by the

Court of Appeal A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of t ...

in November 2018. Economou subsequently sought permission to appeal to the

Supreme Court of the United Kingdom The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom (initialism: UKSC or the acronym: SCOTUK) is the final court of appeal in the United Kingdom for all civil cases, and for criminal cases originating in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. As the Unite ...

which was refused. Whilst David de Freitas's public interest defence was not directly challenged in the Supreme Court, it was examined at some length in the defamation appeal in Serafin v Malkiewicz and others. Lord Wilson, delivering the unanimous judgement of the five-member panel, dismissed this criticism with the words "I can discern no basis for that criticism". The BBC issued a retraction and apology in May 2015 after Lisa Longstaff of

indirectly referred to Economou as a "rapist" while being interviewed on a live episode of '' Victoria Derbyshire''. In December 2015, Economou was charged with

harassing Harassment covers a wide range of behaviors of offensive nature. It is commonly understood as behavior that demeans, humiliates or embarrasses a person, and it is characteristically identified by its unlikelihood in terms of social and moral re ...

David de Freitas. It was alleged that Economou had sent letters and emails to de Freitas and his solicitor, Harriet Wistrich, and "uploaded various recordings and comments onto websites". Economou was found not guilty in June 2016, with the judge stating, "I find that the defendant's actions were calculated to counter the continuing incorrect assertions that the allegation of rape was true". In November 2018, Economou received £10,000 of compensation from the Metropolitan Police Service, albeit without admitting liability, in connection with their investigation of the initial complaint made by de Freitas.

References

{{reflist, refs= {{cite news , url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/no-independent-inquiry-into-the-prosecution-of-eleanor-de-freitas , title=No independent inquiry into the prosecution of Eleanor De Freitas , website=

Gov.uk gov.uk (styled on the site as GOV.UK) is a United Kingdom public sector information website, created by the Government Digital Service to provide a single point of access to HM Government services. The site launched as a beta on 31 January 2012, ...

, date=26 June 2018 , access-date=7 October 2018 , author=

Attorney General's Office The Attorney General's Office (AGO) is a department of His Majesty's Government that supports the Attorney General and their deputy, the Solicitor General (together, the Law officers of the Crown in England and Wales). It is sometimes referred ...

{{cite book, first=Yasmin, last=Alibhai-Brown, title=Ladies Who Punch: Fifty Trailblazing Women Whose Stories You Should Know, chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wiD3DwAAQBAJ&pg=PT167, date=2020, publisher=

Biteback Publishing Biteback Publishing is a British publisher based in London concentrating mainly on political titles. It was incorporated, as a private limited company with share capital, in 2009. It was jointly owned by its managing director Iain Dale and by Mi ...

, isbn=978-1-78590-628-2, pages=167, chapter=Harriet Wistrich: She Fought the Law and She Won {{cite news , url=https://brooklynworks.brooklaw.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2140&context=blr , title=The Chilling Effect: The Politics of Charging Rape Complainants with False Reporting , work= Brooklyn Law Review , publisher=

Brooklyn Law School Brooklyn Law School (BLS) is a private law school in New York City. Founded in 1901, it has approximately 1,100 students. Brooklyn Law School's faculty includes 60 full-time faculty, 15 emeriti faculty, and a number of adjunct faculty. Brookly ...

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018 018 may refer to *Air Canada Flight 018, an airline flight from Hong Kong to Vancouver, Canada, illegally boarded by a Chinese man wearing a disguise in 2010 *Area code 018, a telephone area code in Uppsala, Sweden *BMW 018, an experimental turboje ...

EWCA Civ 2591 (21 November 2018) , url=https://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/2018/2591.html , date=21 November 2018, access-date=2 February 2022 , publisher= British and Irish Legal Information Institute {{cite news , url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/katiejmbaker/vulnerable-women-routinely-jailed-false-rape , title=Vulnerable women are routinely prosecuted – and imprisoned – for false rape claims in the UK , work=

BuzzFeed News ''BuzzFeed News'' is an American news website published by BuzzFeed. It has published a number of high-profile scoops, including the Steele dossier, for which it was heavily criticized, and the FinCEN Files. Since its establishment in 2011, it ...

, publisher=

BuzzFeed BuzzFeed, Inc. is an American Internet media, news and entertainment company with a focus on digital media. Based in New York City, BuzzFeed was founded in 2006 by Jonah Peretti and John S. Johnson III to focus on tracking viral content. Ken ...

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Springer Nature Springer Nature or the Springer Nature Group is a German-British academic publishing company created by the May 2015 merger of Springer Science+Business Media and Holtzbrinck Publishing Group's Nature Publishing Group, Palgrave Macmillan, and Macm ...

, isbn=978-3-030-01186-4 , pages=71 , chapter=Report on England and Wales {{cite news , url=https://www.matrixlaw.co.uk/judgments/court-of-appeal-examines-public-interest-defence-and-serious-harm-threshold-in-defamation-act-2013/ , title=Economou v De Freitas

EWCA Civ 2591 , publisher=

Matrix Chambers Matrix Chambers is a barristers' chambers in Gray's Inn London, Brussels, and Geneva. Founded in April 2000 by 22 barristers from 7 different chambers, it now has over 90 independent and specialist lawyers who work throughout the UK and interna ...

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Somerset County Gazette The Somerset County Gazette is a weekly tabloid newspaper in Somerset, England. It is published in a tabloid format on a weekly basis and has a circulation of about 10,195 based on its last published ABC figures to December 2018.Since then it has ...

, publisher=

Newsquest Newsquest Media Group Ltd. is the second largest publisher of regional and local newspapers in the United Kingdom. It is owned by the American mass media holding company Gannett. It has 205 brands across the UK, publishing online and in print ...

, date=17 March 2015 , access-date=7 October 2018 , author=

Press Association PA Media (formerly the Press Association) is a multimedia news agency, and the national news agency of the United Kingdom and Ireland. It is part of PA Media Group Limited, a private company with 26 shareholders, most of whom are national and re ...

{{cite news , url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/jun/02/alexander-economou-cleared-harassing-father-david-de-freitas-eleanor , title=Alexander Economou cleared of harassing father of rape accuser , work= The Guardian , date=2 June 2016 , access-date=7 October 2018 , author=

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Sky News Sky News is a British free-to-air television news channel and organisation. Sky News is distributed via an English-language radio news service, and through online channels. It is owned by Sky Group, a division of Comcast. John Ryley is the hea ...

, date=17 March 2015 , access-date=4 July 2022 {{cite news , url=https://www.supremecourt.uk/cases/docs/uksc-2019-0156-judgment.pdf , title=Judgement: Serafin (Respondent) v Malkiewicz and others (Appellants) , author=

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External links

Statement from the Attorney General for England and Wales

Alexander Economou website
Freitas, Eleanor de Freitas, Eleanor de 2014 in London Freitas, Eleanor de English defamation case law False allegations of sex crimes Freitas, Eleanor de Suicides by hanging in England Suicides in Fulham