Show jumper Laura Newman will not be extradited to Belgium
Derbyshire show jumper Laura Newman will not face extradition to Belgium for questioning in a horse rustling case, a court has decided.
The 29-year-old from Breaston, was arrested on 9 July over the alleged theft of four horses said to be worth £150,000.
The horses were allegedly taken from a yard in Liege, Belgium on 27 December last year.
Miss Newman told H&H: “As I have said all along there was no truth in the allegations.”
Her solicitor Stephen Gentle explained the situation: “The European arrest warrant was withdrawn and extradition proceedings were discontinued on 30 October.
“An order was made for her legal costs to be paid back to her from ‘central funds’ — that is the public purse.
“Laura has been assisting the Belgian authorities on a voluntary basis as a witness.
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“She is obviously very pleased at this outcome and feels vindicated as she has always regarded herself as a victim of others in this matter.”
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A self-confessed newshound, farmer’s daughter and journalist of many years' experience, Charlotte worked on regional papers before joining H&H in 2007. A regular rider, she visited Ireland in 2010 to investigate the fate of Irish horses through the recession, to much acclaim, and reported from the FEI General Assembly in Rio de Janeiro in 2011. She left Horse & Hound in March 2013.