A COMPANY chief was celebrating today after being cleared of corruption charges involving alleged payments of more than £300,000 in "backhanders" to gain profitable contract work.

Irishman Cormac Byrne, head of Cable Network Systems (CNS), was alleged to have authorised a string of "bungs" to win cable-laying contracts in Harrogate, Leeds and Dartford worth £10 million from 1995 to 1996.

The 38-year-old boss denied knowing that a fortune was being paid to Michael Simmons, head of construction at Bell Cable-media (BCM), Britain's third largest cable communication company with franchises in York, Harrogate, Leeds and elsewhere.

London's Southwark Crown Court was told that money was moved from CNS's bank account with the Allied Irish Bank in Cricklewood to a Jersey account in the name of Winnats Ltd, before being directed to a Swiss account for Simmons's convenience - with a slice of the money going to the development of a luxury retreat in Spain.

Mr Jeremy Carter-Manning, QC, defending Byrne, of Batchnorth Hill, Rickmansworth, Herts, said it was accepted that Simmons "corruptly" pocketed cash transferred from Winnats, and money that had come from CNS.

"That is not an admission made with knowledge at the time, but an admission with the benefit of hindsight," he stressed.

Byrne, who was acquitted of four charges of making corrupt payments, did not give evidence, but maintained CNS was paying commissions to Winnats for bringing in work in an infant but highly profitable industry. "Commission payments are not illegal," said Mr Carter-Manning.

For the prosecution to make out its case, it needed to prove a personal agreement between Byrne and Simmons.

"There is not one shred of evidence in this case that Byrne has ever met Simmons, spoken to Simmons, seen Simmons or known of Simmons," he told the jury.