Cairns pleads not guilty to perjury charge

WELLINGTON: Chris Cairns has submitted a plea of not guilty at a hearing at the Old Bailey ahead of his perjury trial.
The former New Zealand all-rounder had previously indicated his intention to fight the charge against him, which relates to his 2012 libel case against Lalit Modi.
Andrew Fitch-Holland, a barrister who appeared as a witness for Cairns during those High Court proceedings, also pleaded not guilty to a charge of perverting the course of justice. Their trial date was set for October 5 at Southwark Crown Court.
When the case came before Westminster Magistrates’ Court in October it was alleged that Cairns had wilfully made a statement in the legal proceedings against Modi “which you knew to be false or did not believe to be true namely that you never, ever cheated at cricket and nor would you contemplate doing such a thing”.