Lawrence Jones is stripped of his honorary doctorate after the £700m tech ... trends now
Lawrence Jones has been stripped of his honorary doctorate after he being found guilty of drugging and raping two women 30 years ago.
The £700m tech tycoon, who was once known as 'Britain's nicest boss', was awarded an honorary doctorate of business administration from Manchester Metropolitan University in 2016.
But a spokesperson for the university confirmed it had been 'formally rescinded' after Jones was convicted of two counts of rape and one count of sexual assault following two trials at Manchester Crown Court.
Jones, who was also awarded an MBE in 2015 for services to the digital economy, was accused of assaulting two women in the 1990s while he was a piano player in pubs and hotels across the city.
Jones had denied all wrongdoing but was convicted last week after a three-week trial. Jurors were unanimous in their decision to find him guilty of two counts of rape after just over four hours of deliberations.
Lawrence Jones has been stripped of his honorary doctorate after he being found guilty of drugging and raping two women 30 years ago. Pictured: receiving his honorary doctorate in business administration from Manchester Metropolitan University in 2016
Jones was accused of assaulting two women in the 1990s while he was a piano player in pubs and hotels across the city.
The businessman (right) at the height of his success playing chess with Richard Branson
A Manchester Metropolitan University spokesperson said: 'Following the conviction of Lawrence Jones on two counts of rape, and the announcement of the earlier conviction for sexual assault, we have formally rescinded the honorary doctorate he was awarded by the University in 2016.'
Last January the Bentley-driving former cathedral chorister was convicted of sexually assaulting an employee – then a recent graduate - on a business trip at a penthouse hotel suite in 2013.
The woman, who claimed Jones had instructed her that as part of her role she needed to 'look like a Bond girl', told police Jones had grabbed her legs as they sat on a sofa, saying: 'Let me see your knickers.'
The millionaire then tried to push her thighs apart and get on top of her, she alleged, as she cried out: 'No!'
'He was pulling my dress down, pulling the top down,' she added. 'I was terrified, I was really scared. I felt like he was trying to have sex with me if I'm being honest. It was almost like I was his.'
He was convicted of two rapes earlier this month, which took place in a flat in Salford, Greater Manchester between 1993 and 1994 when Jones was about 25.
The victims did not come forward until 'many years' later, by which time Jones was 'in the public eye' as a result of becoming a successful entrepreneur.
The first victim, Woman A, met Jones while working in Manchester city centre.
She took a dislike to Jones after his response when she was 'complaining' about her 'love life', prosecutor Eloise Marshall KC told jurors.
Jones (pictured outisde court) had denied all wrongdoing but was convicted last week after a three-week trial
Jones shared this photo on his blog with the caption, 'Stress free in the Maldives'
Jones allegedly told her 'well you just need a damn good seeing to, you just need a good f******, don't you?'.
According to Woman A, 'she not only disagreed with his politics but found him arrogant'.
However in late 1993, Jones asked her to come to his flat for a drink and a 'chat' so they could 'get to know one another'.
She agreed and arrived alone at the 'dimly lit' flat after midnight, where Jones poured her a glass of wine – probably red - before rolling a 'spliff'.
He then sat down next to her – 'manspreading towards her on the sofa', she later recalled – while she had a couple of drags on the joint and one glass of wine.
But the woman would later say her memories of what happened are 'like snapshots or freeze frames'.
She later told police she recalled going to the toilet and feeling 'ill' – 'spaced out, very floaty and not... right at all'.
In another 'flash of memory', she remembered Jones standing with his arms around her.
She felt 'very strange, as if her body wasn't her own, she felt numb'.
Then she recalled 'falling backwards onto the bed' and 'coming round'
