Employer of Giggs’ ex-girlfriend tried to block his ‘intense’ emails, court told

Ryan Giggs, 48, denies using controlling and coercive behaviour against Kate Greville.

Former Manchester United footballer Ryan Giggs arrives at Manchester Crown Court (Peter Byrne/PA) (PA Wire)

The employer of Ryan Giggs’ ex-girlfriend tried to block his “intense” emails because they were “interfering with her work”, a court has heard.

Elsa Roodt said that Q Communications had “no other option” than to try to block Giggs’ emails as his partner Kate Greville “couldn’t do her work”.

As the second week of the former Manchester United footballer’s trial got under way, Manchester Crown Court jurors heard evidence from Ms Roodt, who appeared on a video link from Dubai.

Ms Roodt said she started PR firm Q Communications in Dubai with Ms Greville’s university friend Katie Harvey in around 2010, and employed Ms Greville to help set up their Abu Dhabi office in 2016.

“At one stage, early on in her employment, we had to call our internet provider to block Ryan Giggs’ email,” she told the court.

“It was intense and Kate couldn’t do her work. It was interfering with her work and we had no other option than to try and block his email.”

Ms Roodt said that when she started working for the company Ms Greville was “very bubbly, very happy” but described a noticeable difference in her over time.

She told the court that at one point Ms Greville “started to be very distracted” and seemed “a lot more worried”, becoming preoccupied with answering her phone and “being available at all times”.

Ms Roodt was asked by prosecutor Peter Wright QC about seeing Ms Greville the day after an incident with Giggs at the Westin Hotel in 2017.

She said Ms Greville had bruises on her arm and “had been crying” and told her the pair had an argument in the hotel room.

“I asked her how she got the bruise and she said after the argument they had ended up having quite rough sex and the bruises were from that,” Ms Roodt said.

The witness also described seeing Ms Greville with bruises on her arm after an incident in February 2020.

Ms Roodt said: “She said Ryan had got physical with her the night before in the hotel room.”

The court heard Ms Greville is currently a managing partner in the UK branch of Ms Roodt’s business.

Giggs, 48, denies using controlling and coercive behaviour against Ms Greville, assaulting her, causing actual bodily harm, and the common assault of her younger sister.