The court martial of John Freeborn and Paddy Byrne at Bentley Priory, the headquarters of Fighter Command, was held in camera. In 2010, the papers had still not been released. According to Bill Nasson in a 2009 publication, it is well known that Freeborn felt that his commanding officer, Sailor Malan, tried to evade responsibility for the attack. Malan testified for the prosecution against his pilots, stating that Freeborn had been irresponsible, impetuous and had not taken proper heed of vital communications. During the trial, Freeborn's counsel, Sir Patrick Hastings, called Malan a bare-faced liar.