John Alford (aka GH’s Robbie Wright) was one of Grange Hill’s most popular actors, receiving more fanmail than any other cast member. After leaving Grange Hill, he went on to star in ITV’s London’s Burning as well as hitting the charts with a series of hits produced by Stock and Waterman. However, at the peak of his fame, John was the victim of a sting from ‘The News Of The World’ and their fake sheikh Mazer Mahmood. As a result of this John was convicted of supplying drugs to the reporter and was jailed for 9 months. As a result of the negative publicity, John lost his successful career.
It was only during the trial of singer Tulisa Contostavlos in 2014, who had been caught in a similar way, that the prosecution’s star witness, the “Fake Sheik” Mazher Mahmood, was caught lying on oath and the trial collapsed. He was later convicted of perverting the course of justice and himself jailed for 15 months. Suddenly all previous cases involving convictions based upon ‘Fake Sheikh’ stings were looked upon differently, and John decided to take the opportunity to clear his name.
“I now believe that the News of the World and the Sun hacked my phones and those of my family, friends and associates, and targeted us using other illegal techniques. I further believe that Mahmood has consistently failed to tell the truth about what he did and how he did it — in my case and in the case of other victims as well as at the Leveson Inquiry.” John Alford said. “I seek funding to sue News Group Newspapers — who are the responsible legal entity — to clear my name and bring those responsible to justice. “
John is crowdfunding his appeal and is receiving considerable support from the public, tired of fake, underhand journalism. You can contribute to John’s appeal here. If you want to find out more about John’s story in his own words, read his feature on the HackedOff website here We wish John well with this case and hope that its resolution will bring to an end this dark period.
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