It has now been announced that Chris Cairns has been charged with perjury, concerning his 2012 libel trial against Lalit Modi. In that case, which I have discussed in some detail in Court & Bowled, Cairns recovered £90,000 damages because of allegations Modi had made about match fixing. The damages were upheld on appeal (the decision on liability was not appealed).
The charge is apparently to be laid formally on 25 September, and the police will not comment until that point. Cairns for his part has said:
"I'm obviously extremely disappointed. However, at least there will now be an opportunity to face my accusers in an open forum, with some rigor and proper process around that, so that I can clear my name once and for all"
NZ Cricket will await the outcome of proceedings before making any comment. In the old days, people would use the Latin sub judice - subject to justice - to indicate that because a trial was under way or forthcoming, nothing should be said before its outcome (partly because it might prejudice the trial, and partly because it might be made redundant anyway depending on the outcome of the trial).
Cairns is of course innocent until proven guilty. Other than that, there is not much else to say pending at least any statement by police on 25 September.
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