Former Manchester United winger and Wales manager Ryan Giggs is “relieved” at being cleared of domestic violence allegations made by his ex-girlfriend after charges were dropped. Kate Greville told police and lawyers she did not want to go through the ordeal of a second trial after jurors failed to reach verdicts in the high-profile first trial last year, Manchester Crown Court heard. Giggs, 49, was not in court on Tuesday as lawyers said there was no longer any realistic prospect of conviction and it was not in the public interest for Giggs to go on trial for a second time over allegations made by Greville and her sister Emma. Peter Wright KC, prosecuting, offered no evidence against Giggs at the 20-minute hearing as the allegations were formally dropped. Judge Hilary Manley entered “not guilty” verdicts on the charges of coercive and controlling behaviour and assault against Kate Greville and common assault of her sister. Giggs had been accused of controlling behaviour over a three-year period involving Greville. He was also accused of assault by “losing control” and headbutting Kate Greville and the common assault of Emma Greville by elbowing her in the jaw, during a row at his home in Worsley, Greater Manchester, on November 1 2020. Giggs denied the offences and underwent a month-long trial, ending last August when the jury failed to reach any verdicts, and a retrial was scheduled to begin on July 31. But on Tuesday, prosecutor Peter Wright KC told Manchester Crown Court that the case had been considered at the highest levels at the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and a decision had been made not to proceed with a second trial. Wright said Giggs’ ex-girlfriend Greville had “indicated an unwillingness” to give evidence in a retrial as giving evidence in the first trial had “taken its toll” on her and her sister Emma. Wright said: “This is not a decision taken lightly.” Chris Daw KC, defending Giggs, said: “Mr Giggs is deeply relieved the prosecution has finally come to an end after almost three years in which he’s been fighting throughout to clear his name. “He has always been innocent of these charges – there’s been very, very many lies told about him in court.” At a series of hearings earlier this year, the court was told of difficulties the prosecution had faced in proceeding with the retrial. These included Kate Greville’s reluctance to now go through with a second trial. Earlier this month, Wright, at a court hearing which could not be reported at the time, said: “What she (Greville) has indicated is a wish not to give evidence by reason of her own mental and physical wellbeing, so seriously affected by the process. “You may recollect at the previous trial for example she gave evidence over a considerable period of time, cross-examined for what was three days, and during the course of that process she was both visibly distressed, weary, and expressed the view that she had felt violated by the defendant’s conduct and in giving evidence while maintaining her account, demonstrating a growing frustration in terms of the process. “I make the observation, a general observation, ambivalence on the part of complainants in these circumstances is not an unknown phenomenon to the courts.” Judge Manley told the prosecutor the question of whether Greville was willing to co-operate or not had to be decided. She added: “The position can’t continue indefinitely.” Wright said: “This is a matter that’s been considered at a senior level both regionally and nationally within the CPS, notwithstanding any objective assessment of the seriousness of the allegations. “What is underlying this is the further general principal consideration of the prosecution of the alleged abusive men so far as coercive and controlling behaviour is considered, the wearing down of complainants, is not to be interpreted by the public and by men as a passport to an acquittal – is that underlying question of considerable public interest that we are continuing with.” But Daw, defending Giggs, told the hearing: “As it stands, the prosecution has no case. “The position we submit is: what matters is the interests of justice. “What we have here is an attempt to cobble together a case built on hearsay and an unwilling witness almost three years after the event. “This is not about the public interest.” A spokeswoman for the CPS said: “At all stages we keep cases under careful review, to ensure our legal test is met. This means there must be a realistic prospect of conviction based upon the available evidence and a prosecution is in the public interest. “We have determined there is no longer sufficient evidence available to proceed in respect of the controlling or coercive behaviour charge and that it is no longer in the public interest to prosecute the remaining assault charges. “This decision was made following detailed discussions with Greater Manchester Police and consultation with the complainants. At no stage has she indicated that the account she gave either in her witness statement, ABE interview (achieving best evidence, the police interview during criminal investigation) or at trial, was untrue Peter Wright KC, prosecuting “It is not the function of the CPS to decide whether a person is guilty of a criminal offence, but to make fair, independent and objective assessments about whether it is appropriate to present charges for the criminal court to consider.” During Giggs’ time at Old Trafford, Manchester United won 13 Premier League titles, two Champions League trophies, four FA Cups and three League Cups. Giggs stood down as Wales manager following a period of leave since November 2020. He won 64 caps for Wales and is co-owner of Sky Bet League Two side Salford. 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David Brooks has been recalled to the Wales squad for the first time since his cancer diagnosis. Brooks, who was diagnosed with stage-two Hodgkin lymphoma while on international duty in October 2021, announced he was cancer-free in May last year. The 25-year-old midfielder returned to club action for Bournemouth in March and started the Cherries’ last two Premier League games. “I am pleased for him because he’s had a long journey,” Wales boss Rob Page said ahead of Euro 2024 qualifiers against Armenia and Turkey. “I tried to get him on camp (in March) because you want your best players around you. “He definitely falls into that category. We knew we had to manage it. “You don’t go through what he’s gone through and not have little setbacks. Bournemouth have been incredible with the way they have handled it and got him back up to speed. It’s great that we have got him available.” Ben Davies and Brennan Johnson also return, having missed the opening qualifiers in March through injury. Wales’ 25-man squad includes Neco Williams, who broke his jaw last month and was ruled out of the rest of the season by his club Nottingham Forest. Page said last week that he wanted clarity from Forest whether full-back Williams could make next month’s Euro double-header. Skipper Aaron Ramsey and goalkeeper Danny Ward both feature despite fitness concerns. Ramsey has missed Nice’s last three games with a calf problem and is expected to be absent again when the Ligue 1 club conclude their season against Lyon on Sunday. Ward was ruled out of the final three games of Leicester’s ill-fated Premier League run-in with a dislocated finger. Tom Lockyer is unavailable after collapsing during Luton’s Championship play-off final victory over Coventry on Saturday. Luton boss Rob Edwards said on Monday that Lockyer is “fine” and images of the central defender watching the Hatters’ promotion celebrations from his hospital bed were posted on social media. Bristol City youngster Joe Low replaces Lockyer to win a first senior call-up. Morgan Fox, currently without a club after being released by Stoke, Luke Harris and Liam Cullen are the three uncapped players in the party. Wales host Armenia in Cardiff on June 16 before playing Turkey in Samsun three days later. Page’s side made a positive start to Euro 2024 qualifying in March by drawing 1-1 away to World Cup semi-finalists Croatia before beating Latvia 1-0 at home. Wales squad for Armenia and Turkey: W Hennessey (Nottingham Forest), D Ward (Leicester), A Davies (Sheff Utd), J Rodon (Rennes, on loan from Tottenham), B Cabango (Swansea), C Mepham (Bournemouth), J Low (Bristol City), B Davies (Tottenham), C Roberts (Burnley), M Fox (unattached), N Williams (Nottingham Forest), E Ampadu (Spezia, on loan from Chelsea), J Morrell (Portsmouth), J James (Birmingham), A Ramsey (Nice), H Wilson (Fulham), O Cooper (Swansea), L Harris (Fulham), D Brooks (Bournemouth), D James (Fulham, on loan from Leeds), K Moore (Bournemouth), T Bradshaw (Millwall), N Broadhead (Ipswich), L Cullen (Swansea), B Johnson (Nottingham Forest). Read More From Conte and Tuchel’s clash to Kane’s heroics – Premier League best moments From Conte and Tuchel’s clash to Kane’s heroics – Premier League best moments Wales boss Robert Page wants clarity over severity of Neco Williams injury Erik ten Hag talks up Man Utd’s defending as David de Gea wins goalkeeper award Casemiro goal puts Manchester United on verge of Champions League qualification Mauricio Pochettino does not want to keep Joao Felix – Atletico Madrid president

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Former WWE superstar Steph De Lander, who wrestled for the company under the name of Persia Pirotta, claimed that she was once asked to perform at an impromptu show requested by Ron DeSantis. WWE's developmental class, the Performance Center, is based in Florida where DeSantis, who is currently campaigning to become the Republican presidential candidate for the 2024 election, just happens to be governor. During an interview with Vice Australia and New Zealand, De Lander said that she and a few other wrestlers were called in on a Saturday because DeSantis had asked for a wrestling show for his family. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter She said: "I’ve wrestled in front of him. I’ve wrestled for DeSantis. "I did meet him, yeah. He came to the PC once. We got called in on Saturday that Ron DeSantis wanted to have a wrestling show for his kids. "So him and his family came in, and they sat front row, and we all beat each other up on a Saturday morning because he wanted to take his kids to see the wrestling. "It is funny. If he becomes president, then I’ve technically wrestled in front of the president." 26-year-old DeLander competed for WWE under their NXT brand but was released in April 2022. The Australian has since gone on to wrestle for AEW, MLW, Impact, GCW and recently made her debut for DDT in Japan. In terms of Republicans, WWE is often more associated with DeSantis's opponent Donald Trump, who frequently appeared on WWE television prior to his political career and was inducted into the company's Hall of Fame in 2013. Meanwhile, DeSantis, despite the backing of Elon Musk, is struggling to gain momentum in the Republican race with Trump often gaining the upper hand thanks to his timely putdowns. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

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