Former New Zealand cricketer Chris Cairns (pictured) appeared in court in London today, charged with perjury and perverting the course of justice. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) alleges that Cairns made a false statement claiming that he would never cheat at cricket during his libel claim against Lalit Modi, the founder of the Indian Premier League (IPL), who had accused Cairns of match-fixing on Twitter. The CPS also claims that Cairns approached Lou Vincent, himself banned for match-fixing last year, to make a false witness statement.

‘Chris Lance Cairns on a day between the 1^st day of October 2010 and the 31^st day of March 2012, having been lawfully sworn as a witness in a judicial proceeding, namely the trial of a libel action in the Queen’s Bench Division of the High Court of Justice in England in which one Chris Lance Cairns was claimant and one Lalit Modi was defendant, wilfully made a statement material in that proceeding which he knew to be false, namely that he had never, ever cheated at cricket and nor would he ever contemplate such a thing’, reads Count 1 of the CPS charge sheet, which alleges that Cairns has committed perjury, contrary to section 1(1) of the Perjury Act 1911.

‘Andrew Fitch-Holland and Chris Lance Cairns between the 3^rd day of March 2011 and the 24^th day of March 2011, with intent to pervert the course of public justice, did acts which had the tendency to pervert the course of public justice namely:
• Arranged to approach Lou Vincent with a view to his providing a false witness statement in support of Chris Lance Cairns’ libel action against Lalit Modi in the Queen’s Bench Division of the High Court of Justice in England;
• Induced Lou Vincent to provide a false witness statement during a Skype conversation with an intended consequence that Chris Lance Cairns’ libel action would be successful’ reads Count 2, which alleges intent to pervert the course of justice.