Elliot Fogel pursued a "dishonest and devious" libel claim against a woman he met as a student 24 years ago in order to continue a campaign of harassment against her, a court heard on Friday.

Fogel, 40, of Edgware, is accused of breaching a life-time restraining order preventing him from harassing Claire Waxman by issuing High Court proceedings against her, and by saving and storing information about her.

Fogel, a former television producer, denies the allegation

He has chosen not to give evidence in the trial at Harrow Crown Court. Interviewed under caution last December, he said he had gathered and saved information from various sources on the internet and media to prepare his case against Ms Waxman.

In closing for the prosecution, Vivek D’Cruz told the court that Fogel’s libel claim was “a dishonest and devious means to continue a campaign of harassment by manipulating the civil court process and bringing an entirely bogus and baseless civil action to cause Ms Waxman and her family distress and alarm.”

“This is a man who will not be deterred, even if it means going back to prison. Over the years he has poured his intelligence into this dangerous and obsessive behaviour, using it in a negative destructive way. It has had very real consequences for Ms Waxman,” he said.

Fogel, who was supported in court by his father, was remanded in custody. The jury will hear closing submissions from the defence on Monday, before retiring to consider their verdict.