Martin Bashir Takes Stand

Martin Bashir, the British television journalist who made a controversial documentary on Michael Jackson's lifestyle, yesterday took to the witness stand on the second day of the 46-year-old singer's trial on charges of sexually molesting a 13-year-old boy.

The first witness to be called in the case, Bashir appeared nervous, bemused and occasionally irritated by some of the questions put to him by prosecution attorney Tom Sneddon. "What do you mean by video documentary?" he inquired of Sneddon when asked if that was what he made for a living. "I call them current affairs films." When describing his career, Bashir said: "I began at the BBC."

"What is the BBC?" asked Sneddon, provoking a look of incredulity from Bashir.

Mr Sneddon then began showing the two-hour programme to the jury.

Before Bashir took the stand, Jackson's defence attorney, Thomas Mesereau, concluded his opening statement.

Labelling the charges against the singer "false and absurd", he continued his strategy of undermining the integrity of the family who levelled the allegations.

"Michael Jackson is being sucked in," he said, suggesting that the mother of the now 15-year-old boy who was allegedly molested by Jackson, was motivated by a desire for money. He also raised the possibility that Jackson himself would take the stand. The defendant, free on $3m (£1.56m) bail, is attending every day of the court proceedings, but had not been expected to testify.

Mr Mesereau also provided some intriguing insights into the lifestyle of the reclusive pop star. "Michael Jackson will freely admit that he does read girlie magazines from time to time," he told the jury. "A member of staff will go to the local mart and pick up Playboy or Hustler from time to time. He absolutely denies showing them to children."

One of the key elements to the prosecution's case is that Jackson showed the boy at the centre of the allegations pornographic material. Explicit magazines were found with the accuser's fingerprints and one magazine had the fingerprints of Jackson and the accuser.

Mr Mesereau offered a possible explanation for that, saying Jackson had once caught the boy reading his magazines and had taken them away and locked them in a briefcase.

He also sought to undermine the character of the accuser and his now 13-year-old brother, labelling them "out of control".

"They broke into the wine cellar" at Jackson's home, Neverland, he told the jury. "They broke into the refrigerator. They were caught with bottles. Michael Jackson was not around. They were caught at the top of the Ferris wheel throwing objects at people and animals below."

Mr Mesereau portrayed Jackson as a "musical genius" whose lifestyle did not "often leave time to sit down with lawyers and accountants. It means he's vulnerable to being taken advantage of".

The defence assertion that Jackson is not always fully involved with the day-to-day business activities carried out in his name. Mr Mesereau quoted one of the alleged co-conspirators as saying: "Michael is not a business man. He does not like business and he does not care about proper procedure." Jackson's intention, said Mr Mesereau, "was not to be involved with signatures - signatures and meetings with Michael Jackson 'will not happen'."

Mr Mesereau also continued his attack on the integrity of the accuser's mother, questioning why she took so long to take her allegations of molestation to the authorities. Indeed, he suggested, her lawyers were the ones to take the accusations to the social services.

One of the reasons for the delay, said Mr Mesereau, was that he was trying to get money from Jackson. While the prosecution alleges that the family was coerced into participating in a video rebuttal to the Bashir documentary, the defence argued that the family was excited at the prospect, seeing it as a way of making money.

The mother's fiance, Mr Mesereau told the jury, said: "We want more than a house out of this. You guys are making millions. What are we getting?"

The boy's mother, Mr Mesereau said, "decided that if she couldn't make money the friendly way, she would make it the hostile way ... and here we are".

Mr Mesereau, who throughout his opening statement sought to turn the tables on the prosecution and portray the accusers as the ones engaged in a conspiracy - in this case to get money from a "vulnerable" pop star - concluded his remarks by warning the jury: "It's going to be a long trial. We are extremely confident that you are going to find Michael Jackson absolutely not guilty of all of this."

The trial continues.