Kids saved from a disgraceful British prosecution

They would probably be in jail now except that the father was in a position to afford a top lawyer

The son of a millionaire music producer accused of committing the first murder in half a century at Henley-on-Thames was freed yesterday after a jury found that he acted in self-defence. Kes Ingoldsby, 18, broke down in tears outside Inner London Crown Court after he and a codefendant were cleared of murdering Stephen Langford, a telecom sales director, in the Oxfordshire market town.

During the 2«week trial the court had been told that Mr Langford, a father-of-two known for his love of vintage cars and Liverpool football team, had suffered a brutal, unprovoked attack by the pair outside a late-night takeaway in Henley. Crown prosecutors alleged that Mr Ingoldsby and a teenage friend, James Diggens, had beaten Mr Langford, 43, to death, felling him with a single punch then kicking him repeatedly.

But Mr Diggens and Mr Ingoldsby, whose father Denis worked for music stars including Diana Ross, left court yesterday after a jury took less than five hours to agree that they had acted in self-defence and were telling the truth. They had admitted getting into a fight with the executive - a friend of Boris Johnson, the local Tory MP, - in December, but insisted that the powerfully built 18st (115kg) fitness enthusiast was the aggressor.

Mr Ingoldsby said that problems began when Mr Langford, who had drunk seven pints, started looking at his girlfriend. The student told jurors that the last thing he wanted was to get involved in a fight, insisting that it started only after Mr Langford ran down the street at the pair with clenched fists.

Describing the prosecution as "shameful, shoddy. . . an affront to British justice", Stephen Horwell, QC, his lawyer, said that the Crown's portrayal of a mysterious, unprovoked incident was designed to conceal the truth. "It is not a mystery because the defendants told the police what had happened - that they were threatened and under attack from Mr Langford."

As the not guilty verdicts to murder and and the lesser alternative of manslaughter were announced Mr Ingoldsby, a music student who lives in Henley, bowed his head and then rushed from the dock. Mr Diggens, a builder from Reading, gasped and swayed in his seat before following his friend.

The court was told that Mr Langford - a Ferrari-driving Liverpudlian who moved to Henley 12 years ago - spent his last evening with friends in the town centre. Later, on their way home in the early hours of December 9 last year, he and Gary Joynes decided to buy food at a takeaway. A bad-tempered exchange ensued between Mr Langford and Mr Ingoldsby, which the latter said culminated in the businessman shouting: "Why are you walking away, you little prick, I'll knock you out." He replied: "You probably would knock me out, you're about 50 stone."

The court heard that seconds later Mr Langford ran after the youth. "I was frightened, completely scared," Mr Ingoldsby said. "His fists were clenched. I didn't know what to do. Jimmy stopped him getting to me by hitting him in the face. He fell backwards. I just thought he had got knocked to the ground and he was dazed." During the trial Mr Diggens insisted that his concern for his friend led him to punch the "much bigger" man in the face. Mr Diggens admitted that as the man lay in the road he "half-heartedly" kicked his hip because he was scared he might get up. Mr Ingoldsby also accepted that he hit him, but said it was a single slap and not repeated kicks.

Dominic Desmond, a prosecution witness, gave a statement to police saying that Mr Langford had come "running at them. . . shouting at them with his fists up". He added: "If they hadn't swung at him he would have hit them. I would say the first hit was in self-defence." Responding to the evidence, Mr Horwell told the court: "The overwhelming likelihood is that Mr Langford died from the fall alone and yet murder is still before you as a possible verdict - that is as extraordinary, we suggest, as it is frightening."

Mr Ingoldsby's father, Denis, launched the careers of Louise Nurding and Dina Carroll, as well as working as a producer with Diana Ross. Mr Langford's parents, Joan and William, released a statement through Thames Valley Police yesterday. It said: "We live in a diseased society - one that needs urgent help to bring back important family and community values to prevent this happening again."

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