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Alan Jones welcomed prominent athlete to luxury home with ‘hug and slap on the bottom’, former butler tells court

Read the original at The Guardian ↗
Cite

correspondent, A. M. M. (2026, September 24). Alan Jones welcomed prominent athlete to luxury home with ‘hug and slap on the bottom’, former butler tells court. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/media/2026/sep/24/alan-jones-trial-butler-evidence-athlete-welcomed-with-slap-on-bottom-ntwnfb

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

The Guardian · collected 2026-09-24 · by Amanda Meade Media correspondent

Quick Summary

David Allan, who served as Alan Jones’s butler for nearly two decades until August 2019, testified in a Sydney court that Jones welcomed a prominent athlete to his apartment with hugs and slaps on the bottom, addressing him as "champion." The trial involves charges of indecent assault and sexual touching against Jones, who has pleaded not guilty. Allan stated he witnessed many athletes visiting Jones’s home over the years but denied seeing any inappropriate behavior towards male athletes between 2003 and 2006.
Written by AI on 2026-09-24, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

In a Sydney courtroom, David Allan, who was Alan Jones's butler for nearly 18 years until August 2019, testified about his employer's interactions with guests at their luxury harbourside home. He described how Jones would welcome a prominent athlete known as complainant M with hugs and kisses on the cheek, calling him "champion." The trial involves charges of indecent assault and sexual touching against Jones from 2003 to 2020 involving five men, including this athlete. Allan also detailed his extensive duties, such as cooking for near-daily guests and ironing everything down to Jones' underpants while managing the broadcaster's strict work schedule that left him sleeping only 2.5 hours a night.

Written for “Alan Jones Trial Witness Statements” on 2026-11-02, grounded in this article and the 2 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Alan Jones Trial Witness Statements
Crime & Law · 3 article(s) covering the same event. See how they differ ↓

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 4% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
The Sydney Morning Herald
Hedges 0 of 2 claims Outlet record 61/100
The Sydney Morning Herald
Hedges 4 of 38 claims Outlet record 61/100
“While both articles describe testimony given by Alan Jones' butler, David Allan, in court proceedings related to alleged indecent assaults, they focus on different aspects of his testimony and do not clearly describe the same specific incident.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
25
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
4%
1 of 25 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
66/100
The Guardian's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
3
Crime & Law
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-24 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

The Guardian · 2798 article(s) · 6 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 6 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Amanda Meade Media correspondent
6 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 She previously said she corresponded with Jones after he allegedly kissed the 17-year-old and put his tongue inside his mouth out of fear Jones would withdraw his financial support.
🔮 She said she was afraid Jones could withdraw the assistance he had provided and “that was pretty frightening”.
🔮 William “Rob” Gilfillan, a former physical education teacher, was to stand trial in Victoria in February last year on five counts of indecent assault and sexual penetration of a person under 16, relating to two schoolgirls in his care in Gippsland in the 1980s.
🔮 Financial journalist Alan Kohler, a familiar face on the ABC’s 7pm news bulletin, will retire in December after three decades as the public broadcaster’s highly respected financial guru.
🔮 The man who was Alan Jones’s butler for almost two decades has told a Sydney court his boss would welcome a prominent athlete to his luxury harbourside apartment with “a hug and a slap on the bottom” and would call him “champion”.
Also by Amanda Meade Media correspondent
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 6 articles by Amanda Meade Media correspondent →

Topics

Sydney

Subjects

Allan PERSON · 8× Jones PERSON · 8× Alan PERSON · 1× Alan Jones’s PERSON · 1× Claire O’Neill PERSON · 1× David Allan PERSON · 1× Georgina Wright PERSON · 1× Glenn Walsh PERSON · 1× Sydney GPE · 1×

Narrative

Allan, who said he remembers the prominent athlete visiting on eight or nine occasions, was asked by prosecutor Georgina Wright: “How would the defendant greet [M] when he arrived in the apartment?” Allan: “Well, it was always the same as all sports people seem to do today.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-24
🔮 The man who was Alan Jones’s butler for almost two decades has told a Sydney court his boss would welcome a prominent athlete to his luxury harbourside apartment with “a hug and a slap on the bottom” and would call him “champion”.

Claims (25 extracted, 1 hedged)

The man who was Alan Jones’s butler for almost two decades has told a Sydney court his boss would welcome a prominent athlete to his luxury harbourside apartment with “a hug and a slap on the bottom” and would call him “champion”. asserted
boss → tell → him
The butler, David Allan, testified in the Downing Centre court that he worked at “the coalface” of the broadcaster’s domestic life as a household manager for 18 and a half years up until August 2019. asserted
he → testify → August
He cooked, cleaned and ironed everything including his underpants and socks, while his employer “tried to exist on 2.5 hours [sleep] a day”. asserted
employer → cook → sleep
“I polished the shoes and cleaned the loos and everything else you do in a house,” Allan, 79, said. asserted
Allan → polish → house
The trial has heard from the prominent athlete, an alleged victim known as complainant M, who told the court Jones would welcome him with a hug and a kiss on the cheek and use flattering terms like “champion” and “beautiful man”. asserted
Jones → hear → champion
Complainant M’s case involves two of the 21 charges of indecent assault and sexual touching against Jones. asserted
case → involve → Jones
The trial is in its eighth week and Jones, 85, has pleaded not guilty to all charges. asserted
Jones → plead → charges
Allan, who said he remembers the prominent athlete visiting on eight or nine occasions, was asked by prosecutor Georgina Wright: “How would the defendant greet [M] when he arrived in the apartment?” Allan: “Well, it was always the same as all sports people seem to do today. asserted
people → say → apartment
It’s a hug and a slap on the bottom … [and he would say] Hello, champion. asserted
he → ’ → bottom
And [they would] sit down and chat away.” asserted
they → sit → ?
After he was asked if he said “slap on the bottom” he said: “Probably the wrong thing to say today, isn’t it?” asserted
it → ask → bottom
Allan said he referred to his employer as Sir or Mr Jones while others called him AJ or Alan. asserted
others → say → him
He never sat down to eat with him but was always close by serving food or working in the kitchen. asserted
He → sit → kitchen
He said “many, many athletes” visited the apartment. asserted
athletes → say → apartment
“I saw we had cricketers, we had swimmers … we had endless people in the sporting environment”. asserted
we → see → environment
Allan agreed he saw Jones with a young male athlete at the apartment between 2003 and 2005, and a total of half a dozen young athletes were visitors. asserted
total → agree → athletes
Allan recalled his interview with Jones for the position of butler. asserted
Allan → recall → butler
“I can remember his words to me were, ‘Can you knock up a few sandwiches?’ asserted
you → remember → sandwiches
And I said, ‘Crust on or crust off?’ asserted
I → say → ?
“Mr Jones had a very hard, extraordinarily brutal regime of work hours.” asserted
Jones → have → hours
“When he realised I could boil an egg, he would bring guests, we’d have guests for lunch. uncertain
we → realise → lunch
And then that extended into dinnertime, and we’d do dinners, and then we’d do Sunday roasts and the weekend and then Saturday breakfast when he was off air.” asserted
he → extend → air
Under cross-examination by defence barrister Claire O’Neill, Allan was asked if he witnessed “any behaviour by Mr Jones towards a male athlete that was inappropriate” between 2003 and 2006. asserted
that → ask → 2003
Allan: “No, I can’t say I did. asserted
I → say → ?
The trial before judge Glenn Walsh continues. asserted
trial → continue → Walsh
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