Writing a true-crime book while the legal process is still unfolding is not for the faint-hearted as author Thomas Harding explained to the international barrister Philippe Sands at the Hay Festival.
The trial of the Chinese dissident and refugee accused of murdering an elderly man in his Hampstead home became a cause celebre after it became the first in modern British history to be held “in camera.
Before getting into the detail of his account of the murder Harding said, "Nothing I am about to tell you is reliable."
Was Allan Chappelow viciously killed by Wang Yam or was it a case of mistaken identity? And why did Jacqui Smith the Labour Home Secretary at the time sign the immunity certificates that led to the court case being held in secret?
Harding, whose true-crime book Blood on the Page delves deeply into this labyrinthine story, was at pains to keep all options on the table and introduced several strands of thought that hinted at what may or may not have happened. Inevitably the talk raised more questions rather than answered them, and brilliantly shone a light on a baffling and disturbing case.
If you missed this you might like Event 416, Kleptoscope: Moscow and London on Sunday, 3 June at 11.30am