Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Ex-fiancé of Tamara Ecclestone denies he tried to blackmail her

 

Jennifer Cockerell
Thursday 21 February 2013 20:29 GMT
Comments

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

An ex-fiancé of socialite Tamara Ecclestone has denied that he tried to blackmail her for £200,000, telling a court their break-up 10 years ago had “destroyed” him.

Derek Rose, 33, said he was “shocked” when co-defendant Jakir Uddin contacted him to say he wanted to sell a film about Ms Ecclestone – which he claims was made for his friend Mr Uddin’s university project – to a tabloid newspaper.

“I didn’t want this story to come out in the public domain,” he said, despite having earlier sold his story to the Mail on Sunday in 2002. “It would be embarrassing for me, embarrassing for my son and it’s not something that I would do.” Mr Rose said he told Uddin he “wanted nothing to do with it”.

Mr Rose and Ms Ecclestone were in a relationship when she was 17 before they split up in August 2002. Mr Rose and Mr Uddin, 20, both deny blackmail. The cast continues.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in