A spokesman for the Serious Fraud Office said that the parties would meet next week in front of Judge Rivlin QC at Southwark Crown Court to decide whether there was sufficient public interest for a retrial.

The Crown, represented by Tim Langdale QC, had alleged that Richard Spearman has made 200,000 from the illegal trading of securities.

The defence, led by William Clegg QC, did not dispute that a conspiracy existed or that Richard Spearman had received such information.

However, Clegg argued that Richard Spearman had not been part of the conspiracy in any way, and had not been aware of the illegality of the information.

The information came from an employee of St Ives financial printer Burrups, Norman Payne, who passed on proofs to Richard Spearmans wife Catherine and her business partner Michael Smith.

Price-sensitive documents from Burrups were found at Epping Paving & Supplies, where Catherine Spearman and Michael Smith worked, in 2001 after a covert police operation.

Smith, Payne and Catherine Spearman pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud last year.

by John Davies