Conrad Black's chief lawyer riddled the star witness against the former media baron with questions yesterday about past lies he admitted to, suggesting that since he lied then, the jury can not trust him to tell the truth now.

Edward Greenspan peppered David Radler, Black's lieutenant for 30 years who has already pleaded guilty to fraud, with questions about a meeting in 2003 with lawyers from a special committee. The group was looking into irregularities at the company that ran Lord Black's media empire, Hollinger International.

"You lied to the lawyers from the special committee?" Mr Greenspan asked.

"I was not forthcoming to the lawyers from the special committee," Radler replied.

"Tell me, Mr Radler, at what point prior to this interview did you decide that you would lie, or not be forthcoming, as you put it?" Mr Greenspan asked.

"I just went to the interview," Radler responded, leading to a tense exchange with Lord Black's lawyer after which Radler blurted out in a raised voice: "Sir, there were some questions to which I gave answers that were not totally truthful, ie I lied."

Mr Greenspan continued: "When you lie, do you look a certain way?"

"That's for others to determine. I can't view myself," he replied.

"So you might be lying now?" Mr Greenspan suggested.

"False. I am not lying," Radler replied.

Radler, testifying for a fourth day in the ninth week of the trial against Lord Black and three others, has been seen as the linchpin of the government's case.

The Canadian-born Lord Black (62), a member of Britain's House of Lords, is accused along with the three others of stealing $60 million (€44.5 million) from Hollinger International by using so-called non-compete payments from the sale of media properties as tax-free bonuses for themselves instead of revenue for the company and its shareholders.

Such non-compete payments were designed to give the buyer a guarantee that the seller, Lord Black's company, would not re-enter the same media market.

Yesterday, in response to further questioning, Radler said he had lied to the Hollinger special committee "because of the personal consequences, and because of my associates and the consequences to them".

"At no point in this interview did you tell the special committee that these non-compete payments . . . were wrong?" Mr Greenspan asked.

"If they didn't ask the question, I didn't say anything."

"You lied to save yourself. Correct?" Mr Greenspan asked.

"Myself and others," Radler replied.

- (Reuters)