Lewis Bloor: Towie star acquitted as £3m fraud trial collapses

Lewis Bloor appeared on The Only Way Is Essex for three years from 2013

A £3m diamond fraud trial involving The Only Way is Essex star Lewis Bloor has collapsed after the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) admitted it failed to disclose some evidence.

About 200 people were conned into buying coloured diamonds at a 600% mark-up, prosecutors claimed.

Mr Bloor, 31, was accused of playing a "key role" in one company involved.

But he and five others were acquitted after the CPS did not disclose evidence which could have helped the defendants.

After four weeks of the trial at Southwark Crown Court, Judge Adam Hiddleston directed the jury to find the defendants not guilty.

Prosecutors had said the alleged victims were cold-called and told lies about the value of the diamonds, which were bought from a wholesaler and sold on.

The trial heard Mr Bloor left the company after he joined the ITV reality show in 2013 and his TV career took off.

He denied conspiracy to defraud between May 2013 and July 2014.

The five others also cleared of conspiracy to defraud were:

• Joseph Jordan, 29, from Waltham Cross in Hertfordshire

• George Walters, 29, from Beckenham in south London

• Max Potter, 25, of Enfield in north London

• Nathan Wilson, 28, of Brentwood in Essex

• Simon Akbari, 27, from Loughton in Essex

The CPS abandoned the prosecution after admitting that material that could have helped Mr Bloor and his co-defendants had not been properly disclosed to defence lawyers.

Prosecutor David Durose QC said the material was "wrongly described" and that "the inconsistencies were profound".

"We have come to the conclusion that we cannot confirm to the court that the prosecution has discharged its disclosure duties in this case," he said.

Narita Bahra QC, representing Mr Potter, called for the CPS to conduct an inquiry into the case after what she described as "a litany of disclosure failings".

She said the Metropolitan Police instructed expert witnesses employed by a company which had a contract with the force to auction jewellery and watches seized in raids and prosecutions.

"Those experts had already given evidence in another trial, in the middle of their contract with the Metropolitan Police where their relationship with the police was not disclosed," she said.

A CPS spokesman said: "As an organisation we remain committed to working with investigators, defence teams and courts to ensure we get disclosure right."

Mr Bloor also appeared in Celebrity Big Brother in 2016

After being cleared, Mr Bloor said: "The hardest thing about this case has been the onslaught of death threats, calls for me to commit suicide and abuse to my family.

"What we now want to happen is that the trolls online take a look at themselves and stop abusing strangers for a quick kick and light laughter with friends.

"It's appalling."