Schoolboy denies claim he had sex with teacher was 'fantasy'

Pic:Wilson later told the boy she was pregnant and that he was the father, the court heard ( PA )
Crime reporter(wp/es):

A schoolboy who says he had sex with a science teacher in an aeroplane toilet has insisted his claim was true and not a fantasy, a court has heard. 

The teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said he had sex with teacher Eleanor Wilson, 29, as they returned from an overseas school trip. 

He denies claims he was infatuated with the teacher, insisting his claim was true and not a fantasy, and said that they carried on seeing each other when they got home. 

The boy told Bristol Crown Court that he and the 29-year-old defendant developed a “bond” while they were on an overseas camping trip in 2015. 

The court heard that Wilson, then aged 26, gave the boy her telephone number which he saved on his phone as “Smurfette”. 

It is alleged that Wilson and the boy began kissing and cuddling in seats at the rear of the plane before she "beckoned" him to the toilets where she performed a sex act on him before having full intercourse.

Anna Midgley, defending, suggested to the boy that the flight would have been busy with other teachers checking on pupils, fellow passengers and cabin crew walking around and what he claims happened did not take place.

"When you came out of the toilet you were close enough together, making the risk that other staff and pupils and cabin staff could have seen you together," she said.

"It's just not true. Nothing had happened," she suggested.

Ms Midgley also suggested the other allegations of kissing, cuddling and holding hands, which allegedly occurred in the boy's bedroom and on visits to Tintern Abbey and the Ashton Court estate, also did not happen.

"Would you accept that you were infatuated with her when you got back from the trip, thinking about her all the time, wanting to be with her and not thinking clearly?" she asked.

"But she never approached you physically or sexually - that might be what you wanted - but it never happened.

"You were thinking about her a lot, and you were infatuated with her, and you had told your friends that things had happened that in fact had not happened.

"You had boasted to your friends and that led to rumours starting and someone started to blackmail her about that. Your parents started to question you and the school started to question you.

"At that point, you couldn't say none of this wasn't true or that it didn't happen and you said you had sex on an aeroplane because that's what you told people."

The boy, who was giving evidence from behind a screen, replied: "That is incorrect."

Wilson, of The Rope Walk, Dursley, Gloucestershire, denies four charges of sexual activity with a child by a person in a position of trust.

The jury was told the boy had written down his feelings in a note on his mobile phone after he claims Wilson told him she was pregnant with his child and was having an abortion.

Police, who recovered the note, did not find any other conversations between the boy and Wilson on his phone, the court heard.

The boy told the jury he had deleted them. When asked why, he replied: "Because it was always a risky situation to keep such material on my telephone."

He insisted the contents of the note were true and the details of the alleged incidents at Tintern Abbey and Ashton Court had happened.

Ms Midgley referred to an occasion during the trip when he asked to speak to the defendant alone.

"To Miss Wilson, it would be obvious you were upset and she told you that these feelings brought about by this trip and the reflections about what you wanted to achieve and the trip allowed you to reflect and make your mum proud.

"Do you remember getting more upset? She put her arm around you while you were having those conversations. Nothing more than that.

"You initiated the conversation about your girlfriend. Miss Wilson was saying the important thing was that you were happy and she jokingly said to you: 'Wipe your tears away because girls don't fancy crying boys.' Do you remember her saying that?"

The boy replied: "Possibly."

He agreed that Wilson said to him to "get away from bad influences" and "get on with school work".

Ms Midgley said: "She didn't tell you to end your relationship with your girlfriend?"

He replied: "I do not agree."

The trial continues.

Theresa May will use crucial Tory Conference address to say she sees a future 'full of promise' for Brexit Britain

Political reporter(wp/es):

Theresa May will declare that Britain’s post-Brexit future is “full of promise” as she seeks to rally her fractious party behind her with a keynote conference speech.

The Prime Minister will make a direct appeal to mainstream Labour voters disillusioned by Jeremy Corbyn's left-wing agenda to switch to the "decent, moderate, patriotic" Tories.

It comes as Mrs May faces pressure to announce when she will stand down after senior ministers said it was now a question of “when, not if”, it was reported last night.

Her speech at Conservative Conference today will also come just a day after Boris Johnson received a thunderous standing ovation as he branded her Brexit plans a “constitutional outrage”.

The former foreign secretary’s fierce criticism of Mrs May’s Chequers proposals came at his hotly-anticipated speech at a fringe event at the Birmingham conference yesterday.

Several Cabinet ministers have said they want the Prime Minister to step down immediately after Brexit in March next year, according to the Telegraph.

But others said they are prepared to give her until 2020 if she uses the next party conference to announce her departure date, saying it’s a case of “when, not if”, the newspaper reported.

In the face of this growing pressure surrounding her future, Mrs May will use her keynote speech today to focus on her hopes for a brighter future for the UK after Brexit.

“I passionately believe that our best days lie ahead of us and that our future is full of promise," she will say. "Don't let anyone tell you we don't have what it takes: we have everything we need to succeed."

In a speech entitled "Our Future Is In Our Hands", Mrs May will tell delegates that countries across the world stand ready to trade with the UK.

And she will promise that at this "moment of opportunity" the Conservatives will always act in the "national interest" and put the needs of hard-working people first.

In an appeal to Labour voters to consider switching, Mrs May will say: "Millions of people who have never supported our party in the past are appalled by what Jeremy Corbyn has done to Labour.

"They want to support a party that is decent, moderate and patriotic. One that puts the national interest first. Delivers on the issues they care about. And is comfortable with modern Britain in all its diversity.

"We must show everyone in this country that we are that party.

"A party that conserves the best of our inheritance but is not afraid of change. A party of patriotism but not nationalism. A party that believes in business but is not afraid to hold businesses to account.

"A party that believes in the good that government can do but knows that government will never have all the answers. A party that believes your success in life should not be defined by who you love, your faith, the colour of your skin, who your parents were, or where you were raised - but by your talent and hard work.

"Above all a party of Unionism, not just of four proud nations, but of all our people.

"A party not for the few, not even for the many, but for everyone who is willing to work hard and do their best."