When was Jeremy Thorpe’s trial, what was the Liberal leader accused of and what did ex-model Norman Scott tell the court?
IT was billed as the trial of the century - a riveting case of illicit sex and murder plots involving one of Britain's leading politicians.
As a new BBC drama starring Hugh Grant retells the story of Jeremy Thorpe's Old Bailey trial, here's what you need to know.
What was the Jeremy Thorpe Affair and when was his trial?
Jeremy Thorpe was Britain's most popular politician - a dashing, charismatic Old Etonian who led the resurgent Liberal Party in the 1970s.
His career was ended by the scandal that erupted following a bungled shooting on Exmoor in October 1975.
Airline pilot Andrew Newton had lured Norman Scott to the moor where he produced a gun and shot Scott's dog - but the gun jammed before he could shoot Scott.
Newton was jailed for possessing the firearm after telling cops Scott was blackmailing him and he wanted to frighten him off.
Later it was claimed he was an assassin hired by Thorpe's friend David Holmes.
After revelations in the press about his friendship with Scott, Thorpe was forced to resign the Liberal Party leadership in May 1976.
He lost his North Devon seat at the May 1979 general election.
Days later he and three others were put on trial at the Old Bailey in a case that had Britain captivated.
What was Jeremy Thorpe accused of?
Married MP Thorpe was said to have had a gay fling with former model Norman Scott in the early 1960s, when homosexuality was illegal.
Prosecutors claimed Thorpe feared Scott would ruin his career by selling his story.
Peter Taylor, for the Crown, told jurors: "The higher he (Thorpe) climbed on the political ladder, the greater was the threat to his ambition from Scott.
"His anxiety became an obsession and his thoughts desperate."
Thorpe was alleged to have asked David Holmes, the best man at his wedding and an assistant treasurer in the Liberal party, to help get rid of Scott.
Holmes knew a carpet salesman in South Wales called John Le Mesurier, who introduced him to fruit machine dealer George Deakin, the court heard.
Deakin was said to have recruited Newton as the hitman and promised him £10,000 - more than £75,000 in today's money.
Newton appeared as a witness in the trial of the four defendants for conspiracy to murder.
Thorpe was also charged with incitement to murder.
What did Norman Scott say at the trial?
Scott said he had been wooed by Thorpe and they had a sexual relationship - which the politician always denied.
He said he had "lived in danger for many years" because Thorpe wanted him dead, and claimed there was an Establishment cove-up.
Asked if he had an obsession with the case, he said: “Of course I have. So would you if people were trying to kill you.”
He admitted embellishing his past, including claims his parents died in a car crash and he was the son of an earl.
He told the Old Bailey: “But I have not lied since that wretched man tried to kill me because I suddenly realised there was no point in all this lying.”
Scott also revealed he had set up a riding school with his earnings from interviews, earning the scorn of the judge.
Mr Justice Cantley told the jury Scott was "A hysterical, warped personality... He is a crook. He is a fraud. He is a sponger. He is a whiner. He is a parasite.”
What did Peter Bessell say at the trial?
Peter Bessell was a former Liberal MP and close friend of Thorpe's.
He told the court Thorpe had told him of his intention to kill Scott in a meeting at the House of Commons a decade earlier in 1969.
Bessell said he was shocked when Thorpe had calmly told him murdering Scott was "no worse than shooting a sick dog".
His credibility as a witness was ripped apart by Thorpe's barrister George Carman, who accused him of telling "whoppers" and branded him "amoral" for not raising his concerns earlier.
It emerged Bessell had a huge £50,000 deal to write about the case for the Sunday Telegraph - but would only get half the money if Thorpe was acquitted.
The trial judge, Sir Joseph Cantley, said Bessell was "a humbug" and suggested his evidence was "a tissue of lies".
It was the most controversial summing up in British legal history.
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What was the verdict in the Jeremy Thorpe trial?
Thorpe decided not to give evidence in his defence, which was seen as a huge gamble and tainted him in the eyes of the public.
His barrister is said to have feared he would be ripped apart in cross-examination.
It has also emerged Thorpe had written a love letter to a man he met in San Francisco in the early 1960s and could have been quizzed in court about his sexuality.
After two days the jury acquitted all four defendants.
Thorpe said the verdict was "totally fair, just and a complete vindication."
He never returned to public life and died in 2014.
Scott still lives in Devon where he sells horses.
Years after the trial he said of Thorpe: “He ruined my life – all I’m remembered for now is Thorpe’s gay lover and that’s not something to be proud of.
"He must be a broken man and I know he must hate me just as much as I hate him.”
Scott is played by actor Ben Whishaw in the new BBC drama A Very English Scandal starring Hugh Grant as Thorpe.
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