Kingsbury man has drug conviction overturned by Appeal Court

Perry Broom had been found guilty of possessing cannabis and cocaine

A Kingsbury man has had his convictions for possessing cocaine and cannabis overturned after top judges ruled they were ‘unsafe’ today.

Perry Albert Ronald Broome, of Hawthorn Grove, was fined �175 and ordered to pay prosecution costs of �1,500 at Harrow Crown Court in March, after being found guilty of having the class A and B drugs.

But the 24-year-old was cleared by the Appeal Court - with top judges saying they ‘could not be satisfied’ his convictions were fair.

Lord Justice Davis told the court police were called to Barningham Way, Kingsbury, in August last year, following reports of a suspicious vehicle.

The officers said they saw someone hand something to the occupants of the car and later discovered small packages of the drugs, which had been thrown away.

Broome was arrested in connection with the incident the next day, and was taken to Kilburn police station, where he gave a saliva sample which tested positive for cocaine.

He denied any wrongdoing and another man came forward and admitted he was the owner of the drugs. However he was convicted after a trial.

Challenging the jury’s verdicts, his lawyers argued the prosecution should not have been allowed to rely on the police station drugs test as evidence he had been in possession of the drugs the officers found.

They also argued the jury should not have been told about a previous conviction for drugs possession in July 2010.

Allowing the appeal, and quashing his convictions, Lord Justice Davis said the objections raised by Broome’s lawyers were ‘well-grounded’ and said the presence of cocaine in his system was not proof he had committed the offences.

The judge, sitting with Mr Justice Eady and Judge Brian Barker QC, added: “We cannot be satisfied that these convictions were safe.”