The British Serious Fraud Office is investigating allegations of corruption involving a juror in the 1986 Guinness trial, the Court of Appeal heard today.

Lord Justice Judge, sitting with Mr Justice Collins and Mr Justice Leveson, said some of the issues under investigation might amount to "no more than gossip or hearsay". However, if certain facts were to be established, the allegations would "obviously be of significance".

Few details of the allegations were revealed in open court during a preliminary hearing concerning Jack Lyons, the financier who is appealing against his conviction in the Guinness scandal.