Mike Lynch's Co-Defendant Dies After Being Hit By Car While Running

The family of Stephen Chamberlain, the co-defendant in the US trial of missing tycoon Mike Lynch, have paid tribute to him after a crash on a Cambridgeshire road. Mr Chamberlain, of Station Road, Longstanton, was hit by a car on Saturday (August 17). He has since died in hospital aged 52.

A blue Vauxhall Corsa was driving between Stretham and Wicken on the A1123 when the collision with the pedestrian, Mr Chamberlain, happened at about 10.10am. Emergency services were then called to the A1123 Newmarket Road.

Mr. Chamberlain was taken to hospital with serious injuries, but police confirmed he has since died. The driver of the car, a 49-year-old woman from Haddenham, remained at the scene and is assisting with enquiries.

In a statement, his family said: "Steve was a much-loved husband, father, son, brother and friend. He was an amazing individual whose only goal in life was to help others in any way possible.

"He made a lasting impression on everyone who had the privilege of knowing him. He will be deeply missed but forever in the hearts of his loved ones."

Anyone with information or dashcam footage of the crash, or the moments before or after, is advised to contact the force via 101 and ask to speak with Detective Constable Kevin Drury in the serious collision investigation unit (SCIU).

Get the latest breaking news and top stories straight to your phone for free with CambridgeshireLive's WhatsApp channel. To join, all you need to do is click this link to access the latest updates from across the county.

When you open the channel, you can switch on notifications by clicking the bell symbol in the top right corner. No-one else will be able to see any of your details and we won't send constant messages - just regular updates on the biggest headlines.

We also treat members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. Read our privacy notice here.

Stephen Chamberlain, who was Mike Lynch's co-defendant in a recent US fraud trial died a few days before Mr Lynch went missing from a superyacht off the coast of Sicily.

The former vice president of the finance company Autonomy was hit by a car while out running in Cambridgeshire on Saturday morning (August 17), his lawyer said.

Mr Chamberlain had faced the same charges of fraud and conspiracy as his former boss.

This was for allegedly scheming to inflate the value of Autonomy, then Britain's largest software firm, before it was sold to Hewlett-Packard (HP) in 2011, Sky News reports.

Mike Lynch’s co-defendant in US fraud trial ‘fatally struck’ by car while jogging | Guardian https://t.co/2wD8F6bZ0W Stephen Chamberlain was VP of finance for Autonomy, the firm co-founded by British tech tycoon missing in Sicily pic.twitter.com/iENKORo1PI

The pair were acquitted of all 15 charges by a jury in San Francisco in June.

At the weekend Cambridgeshire police had appealed for witnesses and information after a man in his 50s was taken to hospital with serious injuries.

In a statement on Monday (August 19), Mr Chamberlain's lawyer, Gary Lincenberg, who described him as a "dear client and friend", said he had died after being "fatally struck" by a car while out running in Stretham.

This news came just before Mr Lynch and his daughter Hannah were discovered to be missing after a superyacht sank off the coast of Sicily on Monday.

British tech tycoon Mike Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter are among six tourists missing after a luxury yacht sank in a tornado off the coast of Italy. Sky Correspondent @ashnahurynag reports. https://t.co/Hq2LCftAeJ pic.twitter.com/KgKe6Ge6dn

Additionally, Morgan Stanley International Bank chairman Jonathan Bloomer and Clifford Chance lawyer Chris Morvillo are among the group of six missing.

The 56m Bayesian was carrying 22 people including Brits, Americans and Canadians, BBC News reports.

Fifteen people were rescued, including a one-year-old British girl. Sicily's Civil Protection also confirmed that the body of the ship's cook was recovered.

Recommended reading:

Stephen Chamberlain worked as Autonomy's vice president of finance until he left in 2012 to work as chief operating officer for cybersecurity firm Darktrace.

He also volunteered as a finance director for Cambridge United, according to his LinkedIn profile.

The sale of Autonomy was the biggest tech takeover of a FTSE 100 firm at the time - but HP wrote down £5.5bn of the company's value within a year, claiming revenue streams were inflated.

We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.

Please report any comments that break our rules.

This website and associated newspapers adhere to the Independent Press Standards Organisation's Editors' Code of Practice. If you have a complaint about the editorial content which relates to inaccuracy or intrusion, then please contact the editor here. If you are dissatisfied with the response provided you can contact IPSO here

Data returned from the Piano 'meterActive/meterExpired' callback event.

As a subscriber, you are shown 80% less display advertising when reading our articles.

Those ads you do see are predominantly from local businesses promoting local services.

These adverts enable local businesses to get in front of their target audience – the local community.

It is important that we continue to promote these adverts as our local businesses need as much support as possible during these challenging times.

The family of Stephen Chamberlain, the co-defendant in the US trial of missing tycoon Mike Lynch, said he would be “deeply missed” after he was hit by a car and died at the weekend.

Cambridgeshire Police said 52-year-old Mr Chamberlain died in hospital after he was struck by a car in Stretham on Saturday.

A statement from his lawyer said he was hit “while out running”.

It comes as Mr Lynch was confirmed as one of the six tourists missing on Monday after the Bayesian luxury yacht sank in a tornado off the coast of Sicily.

Mr Chamberlain was cleared earlier this year, alongside Mr Lynch, of conducting a massive fraud over the sale of software company Autonomy to Hewlett-Packard (HP) in 2011.

Relatives of Mr Chamberlain said in a tribute released through police that he was a “much-loved husband, father, son, brother and friend”.

“He was an amazing individual whose only goal in life was to help others in any way possible,” his family said.

“He made a lasting impression on everyone who had the privilege of knowing him.

“He will be deeply missed but forever in the hearts of his loved ones.”

Cambridgeshire Police are appealing for witnesses after Mr Chamberlain – a pedestrian – was in collision with a blue Vauxhall Corsa car on the A1123 Newmarket Road in Stretham.

The force said the car was travelling between Stretham and Wicken when the collision happened at about 10.10am on Saturday.

Mr Chamberlain was taken to hospital with serious injuries and later died.

Police said the driver of the car, a 49-year-old woman from Haddenham, remained at the scene and was assisting with inquiries.

Gary Lincenberg, Mr Chamberlain’s lawyer, said in an earlier statement: “Our dear client and friend Steve Chamberlain was fatally struck by a car on Saturday while out running.

“He was a courageous man with unparalleled integrity. We deeply miss him.

“Steve fought successfully to clear his good name at trial earlier this year, and his good name now lives on through his wonderful family.”

HP acquired Cambridge-based Autonomy, founded by Mr Lynch in 1996, for $11bn (€10bn), but later wrote down its value by $8.8bn (€8bn) and asked the US justice department to investigate fraud.

Mr Chamberlain, a former vice-president of finance at the company, was accused of artificially inflating Autonomy’s revenues and making false and misleading statements to auditors, analysts and regulators in 2018.

Both he and Mr Lynch were found not guilty of the charge in June following a trial at a federal court in San Francisco, California.

Mr Lynch was previously made an OBE for services to enterprise in 2006.

The British-flagged superyacht, named Bayesian, capsized at about 5am local time off the coast of Palermo on Monday when the area was hit by a tornado.

Anyone with information or dashcam footage of the collision in Stretham, Cambridgeshire, or of the moments before or after, is asked to contact police.

People are asked to call 101 and request to speak with Detective Constable Kevin Drury in the serious collision investigation unit.