Canoeist wife accused of lying

THE wife of back-from-the-dead canoeist John Darwin was accused yesterday of lying to make the facts fit her complex defence against £250,000 (€319,000) fraud charges and to “save her skin”.

Anne Darwin, 56, helped her husband fake his death in a staged sea tragedy and then cashed in insurance policies and pensions, Teesside Court has heard.

Even their sons Mark, 32, and Anthony, 29, were kept in the dark, duped by the scam, the jury heard.