Marshall repeatedly tried to pin Ecclestone down regarding what he knew and
when, seemingly becoming exasperated by some of the latter’s responses.
The court had been warned that Ecclestone, on the first of three scheduled
days on the stand, had impaired hearing and eyesight, and to expect a slower
pace to proceedings than normal.
At one point, Ecclestone was asked why he responded to the blackmail threat by
seeking the advice of an in-house accountant rather than lawyers, and did
not approach the police.
“It doesn’t make any sense,” Marshall said. “You are in a
situation where you are being asked to pay millions of dollars over a threat
or an insinuation that may cause you tax problems.
“You don’t ask any of the lawyers … that’s just something you
fabricated. You have made it up.”
There were signs, too, of Ecclestone the showman.
He began the day by completing a full lap of the revolving doors into the
Royal Courts of Justice, emerging grinning into the cameras he had just
waved away.
He also made a few trademark quips, for instance when he claimed he would have
paid a similar amount to anyone threatening to claim that he had cheated on
this ex-wife Slavica.
When asked if that was really true, he replied: “You haven’t met my
[ex-]wife.”