LAST night the Crown Prosecution Service stood by its decision to bring the case to court.

A spokeswoman said: “In our lawyer’s view there was sufficient evidence to bring a charge against Ms Ritchie- Fallon and due to the nature of the defendant’s employment it was definitely in the public interest.

“The cost of bringing the case to court was not a factor in deciding whether to charge this defendant or whether to bring her to trial following her not guilty plea.

“The court, upon hearing the evidence of all witnesses, did not find the case proved to the criminal standard of beyond reasonable doubt and accordingly acquitted Ms Ritchie-Fallon of this offence.

“It is not the role of a public prosecution service to run only those cases where there is absolute certainty of guilt due to admissions from the defendant.

“It is the role of the public prosecutor to bring cases in accordance with the Code for Crown Prosecutors, as was done in this case.”