Court hears how pair tried to blackmail British royal

TWO men tried to blackmail a member of the British royal family with an audio recording featuring claims he had performed a gay sex act on an employee, a court was told yesterday.

Ian Strachan, 31, and Sean McGuigan, 41, tried to blackmail the royal, who cannot be identified, for £50,000 (€62,000) after failing to sell the story to a number of national newspapers, said prosecutors.

Both deny making an unwarranted demand with menaces.