A millionaire philanthropist accused of speeding off with a policeman clinging to his Jaguar was cleared today because he was desperate to get his sick wife to hospital.
A jury accepted textiles tycoon Sir Harry Djanogly, 77, was trying to get Lady Carol to a doctor when Sergeant Robert McDonald stopped him on the A40 in Hammersmith, London.
He was held for speeding on the A40 dual carriageway in December 2014 after he was spotted weaving through traffic at 70mph in a 50mph limit.
Cleared: Textiles tycoon Sir Harry Djanogly (left) was cleared of assault and dangerous driving after Sergeant Robert McDonald (right) was left hanging from his Jaguar window for 150 yards on a busy road
Sir Harry denied intentionally dragging the sergeant along the road, instead claiming the car accidentally rolled forward when his foot slipped during their argument.
The officer, who suffered grazing to his knee, claimed he feared for his life as he was dragged more than 150ft (45m) clinging to the steering wheel.
He also said Sir Harry drove off as he tried to talk to him and that Lady Carol showed no signs of breathing difficulties.
But today the textile tycoon, who is worth £300million, was cleared of common assault and dangerous driving.
Djanogly also claimed that he told police he would be willing to do 'whatever they wished' - but only once he had taken his wife Lady Carol (pictured together) to hospital
Speaking outside court, Sir Harry's lawyer Nick Freeman, nicknamed Mr Loophole, said: 'Mr Djanogly very much regrets the incident and would like to thank the court and the jury for giving his case such careful consideration.'
Grandfather-of-six Sir Harry, whose son Jonathan is the Tory MP for Huntingdon, admitted speeding but denied driving dangerously.
Judge Richard McGregor-Johnson, The Recorder of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, said: 'The defendant will be discharged. Members of the jury, thank you very much for your attention to this case.'
And he denied intentionally dragging Sgt McDonald along the road claiming the automatic car accidentally moved forward when his foot slipped off the brake as the officer reached in through the window.
Giving evidence at Isleworth Crown Court, Sir Harry said: 'I told him (Sgt McDonald) that I was taking my wife to the hospital and, once I have delivered her there, I will do what you want.
'He said 'No' and I said 'I'm going'. As I said that, he jumped through the window. He started frantically waving his arms around looking for a key or something.'
He added: 'I was shocked at the way he just threw himself, threw himself literally, I mean it was all happening very quickly.'
Sir Harry said that 'at some stage' his foot came off the brake.
He said: 'When you take the foot off the brake it doesn't stay, it moves forward.'
He told the court he was in so much shock that his memory has gone 'blank' over the situation, but regretted what happened.
He said: 'I'm very sorry that it was caused.
'I'm terribly sorry that this has happened at all, in no way did I wish him injury.'
Decision: The Jury agreed he was not intionally dragging Sgt McDonald along the road when his foot slipped off the brake
But he said he had been 'disturbed' that the police officer had 'no empathy' for his wife, despite explaining the situation.
He had been taking his wife from their country home in Marlow to the The Hospital of St John and St Elizabeth, near their home in St Johns Wood, north west London.
Brief: His lawyer Nick Freeman, also known as 'Mr Loophole' because of his expertise in driving cases, says his client still 'regrets' incident
Lady Carol, who suffers from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, had just come out of two weeks in intensive care and was having difficulty breathing, the court was told.
Sir Harry said: 'I just wanted to get my wife to hospital. The risk if I didn't, to me, it was very great.
'I know she's not a complainer. When she complains I know I have to act.
'We were concerned that she would have to have a tracheotomy. That's where they slit open the throat and put a pipe down it.'
He added: 'I was driving as quickly as I could safely. I assumed the officer was going to take my number and I would have to deal with some driving situation later.
'I was very upset and I wanted to get my wife to hospital.'
He said Sgt McDonald would 'definitely have died' if he had, as claimed, revved the car intentionally as the car goes 'from 0-60mph in a second'.
He said: 'If I had pressed that accelerator that would have been the most irresponsible action any human being could ever take.
'If I revved that car that car would just go. I wouldn't have seen that man for dust. He would have definitely died.'
Lady Carol claimed the officer was very aggressive when he pulled them over.
She said: 'He put his full body through the window right up to his waist. It was very aggressive. It was scary really. It was crawling, we have got an automatic car and it goes by itself. It was three or four paces. A short distance.
'I remember my husband stopped the car altogether. You have to put your foot on the brake which he did then I saw him being marched off in handcuffs..'
Sgt McDonald claimed Sir Harry 'put his foot down' and that his wife appeared calm with no signs of breathing difficulties.
He said: 'As a result of the Jaguar moving I was originally being dragged backwards, but I was then pulled into a forwards position - something I can only describe as a water-skiing position facing the same direction the Jaguar was moving in.
'I feared for my life. I know it sounds dramatic, but I did.'
He added: 'The acceleration was so rapid I feared I would end up underneath the vehicle if I let go. I didn't believe any other course of action was open to me.'
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