Ex-fiancé of Tamara Ecclestone denies he tried to blackmail her

An ex-fiancé of socialite Tamara Ecclestone has denied that he tried to blackmail her for £200,000, telling a court their break-up 10 years ago had “destroyed” him.

Derek Rose, 33, said he was “shocked” when co-defendant Jakir Uddin contacted him to say he wanted to sell a film about Ms Ecclestone – which he claims was made for his friend Mr Uddin’s university project – to a tabloid newspaper.

“I didn’t want this story to come out in the public domain,” he said, despite having earlier sold his story to the Mail on Sunday in 2002. “It would be embarrassing for me, embarrassing for my son and it’s not something that I would do.” Mr Rose said he told Uddin he “wanted nothing to do with it”.

Mr Rose and Ms Ecclestone were in a relationship when she was 17 before they split up in August 2002. Mr Rose and Mr Uddin, 20, both deny blackmail. The cast continues.