Jury in Katie Price ex's trial told to ignore egos

Kieran Hayler denies all the charges against him

Jurors in the rape trial of Katie Price's ex-husband have been told to cut through the "big egos" and "big personalities" involved in the case before considering their verdicts.

Kieran Hayler, 39, is on trial at Lewes Crown Court charged with three counts of rape and one count of sexual assault of a 13-year-old girl in West Sussex in 2016, which he denies.

In a closing speech on Monday, prosecutor Ryan Richter told jurors: "You've seen the whirlwind of what is Katie Price and you're going to make an assessment of her, how it affects this case, how much it helps you decide.

"The prosecution accept you're likely to treat her evidence with caution."

Katie Price gave evidence during the trial

Richter added: "You may well put 90% of her evidence to one side, it's irrelevant, it doesn't help you.

"I'm sure you will concentrate on what is relevant and look for support to assess what she says."

The prosecutor said jurors had seen enough of "the egos, posing and posturing".

"You've seen the big personalities, the big egos in this case, and you'll judge it, you'll cut through it," he said.

"You'll decide whether those big voices drown out the voice of [the complainant] or whether that voice has made you sure on the counts of this indictment."

Referring to messages between the alleged victim and Price in 2017 where the media personality told the girl "I will make you a little star", Richter asked: "Is that the key to this case, that message?"

He added: "Is it the suggestion seriously for nine years Katie Price has been biding her time to make [the complainant] a star?"

Defence barrister Arlette Piercy said in her closing speech that Hayler had been consistent and clear throughout his defence in what had been a "rollercoaster ride for everybody in this court".

She called for the jury to take care, be calm and rational, warning "emotion is enemy of reason".

Piercy pointed to inconsistencies in the complainant's evidence that on more than 30 occasions she said she did not know or could not remember.

"We submit lack of coherent account is an important factor which supports what we are saying and undermines the credibility of the witness as a whole," Piercy said.

Hayler denies all the charges against him and says the allegations are a "smear campaign to ruin me" by Price.

Additional reporting by Press Association.

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