The jury who will ultimately determine the outcome of Chris Cairns’ perjury trial will tomorrow be shown the full running length of 2001 film Bridget Jones’s Diary, as well as its sequel, Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, both of which appear to show candid footage of Cairns as he unexpectedly falls in love with a woman who works at a book publishing company.
Cairns, who at the time of the film was working as a barrister in London, is accused of match-fixing in the short-lived Indian Cricket League.
While the films predate the ICL by some time, the prosecution believes that – being as candid as they are – they may provide some insight into Cairns’ personality, reliability and general mental state in the years leading up to the alleged incidents.
Of particular focus for the jury will be one scene in which Cairns appears to have been caught engaging in a brutal fist-fight and altercation with fellow cricketer and now witness against him, Lou Vincent, pictured here in the present day (left) and in the 2001 film (right):
A screencap from the documentary, released to media today, allegedly shows the late night dust-up between the two men:
Cairns’ defence team has welcomed the introduction of the films as evidence, saying that, far from incriminating the defendant, they paint a picture of Vincent as untrustworthy and “a bit of a pillock.”
The defence is arguing that Vincent has been motivated to testify against Cairns by his supposed bitterness over losing a struggle for Bridget Jones’s heart.
More than a decade on, investigators say they have been unable to locate Bridget Jones, a circumstance for which Cairns is facing additional suspicion.