Clayton trial is not glamorous, jury told

The trial of Adam Clayton’s former personal assistant is “not a glamorous trial” and not a case of getting a glimpse into the lives of the rich and famous, the jury has been told.

Opening the trial on day two, Colm Ó Briain, prosecuting, called it “is a grubby tale of prolonged, repeated, and pernicious fraud and gross mistrust”.

Carol Hawkins, aged 47, of Lower Rathmines Rd, Dublin 6, has pleaded not guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to 181 counts of theft from two of Mr Clayton’s Bank of Ireland accounts over a four-year period from 2004 to 2008. The alleged thefts totalled €2,862,567.