Rory's Lawyers: No Conspiracy Here

Tim Healy reports after a morning of court proceedings that Rory's legal team refuted suggestions that his phone wiping was an act of conspiracy.

The case defendants, Horizon Sports Management, made the allegations yesterday in an attempt to obtain the phones for further inspection.

Mr McIlroy had done nothing wrong and Horizon’s criticism of him was wholly misplaced.

It was criticism “made against a backdrop of an allegation of conspiracy that he planned his exit from Horizon for which there is not a shred of evidence”, counsel said. The allegation was “speculation and conjecture”.

There was a determination on the part of Horizon to mischarachterise Mr McIlroy as having not complied with a previous court order and that was wholly wrong, Mr Cush said. He had fully complied.

In reply, Maurice Collins SC, also for the defendants, said there had been significant destruction of data and this was not an inference or speculative assertion.

It was admitted by Mr McIlroy data had been destroyed, whether innocently or unknowingly, he said.