Harpist 'pressurised' into crime

Jemima Phillips claimed one man threatened to expose her as a drug user

A former royal harpist accused of burgling four homes claimed she was forced into crime by threats to expose her drug habit if she did not.

Jemima Phillips, 28, from Ebbw Vale, Blaenau Gwent, official harpist to Prince Charles from 2004 to 2007, previously admitted one count of fraud.

She and co-defendant William Davies, 41, of Cheltenham, deny burglary.

The court heard his "riff-raff" friends heard of her royal connections at a day centre for drug addicts.

During police questioning, Ms Phillips said she had been helping Mr Davies, her boyfriend, to tackle his addiction.

Ms Phillips, who now lives in Lydney, Gloucestershire, admitted using a building society passbook stolen from one of the houses to try to withdraw £500, but said she only did so under pressure from a man she met at the day centre.

She claimed he had threatened to tell the media she was a drug user and felt it would damage her high-profile career if he carried out the threat.

In interviews, Ms Phillips said: "He was going on about the royal family and stuff. 'Give my regards to Prince Charles' he said, or maybe he would himself. I did feel he was being really aggressive towards me.

He was just going on about the royal family thing and phoning the papers up and telling them I was a druggie Jemima Phillips

"He sort of pressurised me into going and taking this Nationwide book and getting £500 out, which I did go and do.

"He was just going on about the royal family thing and phoning the papers up and telling them I was a druggie, and everything.

"I played at their [Prince Charles and Camilla Parker-Bowles] wedding and I was on GMTV and Richard and Judy. I was in the papers all across the world."

She added: " I worked for the royal family for four years and I have done a lot with my career and stuff and Will started telling all and sundry - all the dealers and all the sorry riff raff about it and that.

"Anyway, this guy took me to one side putting loads of pressure on me and I know Will needed the money to pay his rent.

"I went out and did it."

Two of the burglaries took place in Coleford, Gloucestershire

Asked about her drug habit she said she "just smoked" and did not inject.

The court has heard CCTV coverage showed the defendants in the car together when he went to withdraw money from a Tesco cashpoint in Coleford, Gloucestershire, where two of the burglaries took place.

Det Constable Adam Jago told the jury the harpist was arrested on the day of the last burglary in May when she was stopped with much of the stolen property in her car, including computers, mobile phones, a flat-screen TV and a guitar.

Mr Davies had said it was his property which he had stored with a relative while he was in detox to prevent him from being tempted to pawn it.

Ms Phillips said at the time she believed all the property belonged to Mr Davies.

Harpist 'not involved'

Bank cards taken during the raids were found in Ms Phillips' own purse.

She denied being present at any of the burglary scenes, or with Mr Davies when he obtained money with stolen cards.

The court heard she would never break into anyone's house because she would regard it as a "violation almost as bad as rape".

She told police she had become involved with drugs through a previous boyfriend but had become clean, and had only started using again when she met Mr Davies some months prior to the alleged burglaries "on the street".

Asked if she was scared of Mr Davies, she told police: "After my last boyfriend, I am scared of most men, yes."

Mr Davies has pleaded guilty to dishonestly handling the stolen property, but the prosecution has rejected his claim he was only a handler not a burglar, saying he was making use of stolen cards too soon after the raids for anyone else to have had time to pass them to him.

He has claimed he received all the stolen goods from a man he has refused to name and planned to sell the items on, adding Ms Phillips was not involved at all.

"I wouldn't even allow her to do a thing like that - I find it quite wrong what has been said about her and I really feel for her at the moment about what has happened to her for allowing me to put things in her car," Mr Davies told police.

The trial at Gloucester Crown Court continues.