Man accused of killing judge’s daughter and blowing up home denies having ‘short fuse’

A man accused of stabbing to death his girlfriend and blowing up their home has claimed has claimed he suffered racist abuse, alleging her judge father named a black fish after him, a court heard.

Clifton George, 45, stabbed to death charity worker Annabel Rook, 46, at their home in Dumont Road, Stoke Newington, north London, before starting a fire which triggered a gas canister blast.

George admits manslaughter and arson, but has denied murder and blames the killing on a loss of self-control.

The court has heard that Ms Rook told friends and family that she was considering leaving George, and shortly before her death, on June 16 last year, she had asked her partner to move out of their home.

Her body was found after an explosion tore through the house, and George was found in the garden attempting to stab himself.

Starting his evidence at Snaresbrook Crown Court on Tuesday, George described to jurors being ‘madly in love’ with Ms Rook when they first started dating in 2010, after meeting at a house party.

He said he was ‘in awe’ of her father because of his status as a judge, and claimed in evidence that he and Ms Rook’s relationship became strained after he was subjected to racist discrimination at the Rook family home.

He said he found out that a black fish in the garden pond had been named Clifton, and alleged that Judge Rook called it a ‘misunderstanding’ when they spoke about it later.

He said when he suggested the naming of the fish could be racist, Judge Rook shouted ‘no, no, no’, and then turned his face away.

‘It was weird, like he just shut down, staring at the fireplace,’ he said.

‘I sat there for what felt like a very long time, 20 seconds, in complete silence. I said his name twice, Peter, Peter, and he just ignored me.
‘I said ‘okey dokey’, and got up and walked out.’

He recounted another incident when he was called a ‘black b*****’ by a guest at a house party but claims her father did nothing.

George accused Ms Rook of repeatedly ‘throwing insults’ at him about the abuse he had suffered as a child at the hands of his mother.

He claimed Ms Rook would ‘flip out’ and threaten to end their relationship ‘over minor issues’, and suggested she would shout and point in his face during rows.

George has been accused by prosecution witnesses of harbouring ‘unreasonable rage’ and frequently losing his temper during the ten-year relationship.

He told the court: ‘I don’t think I’ve got a short fuse.
‘Yes, I have lost my temper. But not often.

‘If we were having an argument, I would raise my voice back.’

Prosecutors allege George murdered his partner by grabbing her around the neck and then stabbing her 22 times with a kitchen knife, as their relationship was crumbling.

Ms Rook, the daughter of retired Old Bailey judge Peter Rook, was the co-founder of a London-based social enterprise called MamaSuze, which supports refugee and migrant women with art and drama activities and workshops.

George told jurors he worked as an electrician on the Crossrail project, the extension of the Northern Line, and the Leadenhall Building, known as the Cheese Grater.

He was born in Hackney, east London, and raised in Whitechapel, and told the court he suffered violent abuse as a child at the hands of his mentally-ill mother.

On one occasion, he said, she poured water from the kettle over him for playing football inside their home, and on another occasion she swung him three times into a door.

George said he was taken into care after the second incident and never saw his mother again.

George also said he had found his infant sister dead in her cot when he was a child, leading to him suffering night terrors and a fear of touching things.

In his evidence, he accused Ms Rook of turning on him ‘out of nowhere’ when they were returning to their apartment from a night out on holiday in Antigua.

‘Annabel started to abuse me about my childhood and the trauma I had suffered,’ he said.

‘She was saying stuff like I’m damaged, I’m broken, I didn’t know how to be in a relationship because of what my mother did to me.
‘It was just nasty.’

George accused Ms Rook of complaining about his Arsenal season ticket and the times he wanted to watch matches at home, saying she would ‘show her annoyance, her disapproval, and throw some insults at me’.

He denied an allegation in the prosecution case that he pinned her against a wall by her neck, but said he had once pushed her out of the way.

‘Annabel was throwing insults about my childhood trauma. I told her to stop’, he said.

‘She shouted in my face, and regrettably I pushed her out of the way.
‘I was angry, I was telling her to stop, saying get out of my face because she was shouting and pointing in my face.’

He told the jury: ‘With Annabel, sometimes arguments would come out of nowhere.
‘I was always doing something that would annoy her.’

The court has heard that Ms Rook told friends and family that she was considering leaving George, and shortly before her death, on June 16 last year, she had asked her partner to move out of their home.

George denies murder, but has pleaded guilty to manslaughter and arson. His evidence is due to continue on Wednesday.