The Brazilian cleaner accused of stealing sex videos from one judge and blackmailing another walked free from court today after the charges were dropped.

The unexpected development, announced this morning, came just two weeks before Roselane Driza, 37, was due to face a retrial at the Old Bailey.

Judge Martin Stephens was told that the Crown Prosecution Service had decided not to proceed with the case.

John Black, QC, the prosecutor, told the judge that no evidence was being offered against Driza because the two judges involved in the case were now ill. Mr Black said there was no prospect of them being able to give evidence.

Judge Stephens entered formal not guilty verdicts and told Ms Driza she could be discharged.

The move follows an appeal in the High Court in February against Ms Driza’s earlier conviction. She was sentenced to 33 months in prison last October for stealing videos from her lover, Judge Mohammed Ilyas Khan, and for blackmailing a female judge, known only as J, for £20,000.

But she was later cleared of blackmailing Judge Khan, 61, with whom she was living until her arrest.

After Ms Driza and Judge Khan became lovers, he sent her intimate text messages and emails, including one in which he told her she was “chilli hot stuff”.

The charges alleged that between January 1 and October 26, 2005 she “made an unwarranted demand for £20,000 on the female person, with menaces”.

The second count of theft alleged that between June 1 and October 1 of the same year she stole two video cassettes “belonging to a male person”.

Ms Driza, of south London, pleaded not guilty to the charges at a hearing in March and was granted bail. A month later, she was told the retrial would go ahead.

Ms Driza blew kisses outside court. “I am so happy,” she told a crowd on onlookers before throwing her arms in the air and shouting “freedom!”.

She added: “Justice has been done. I am very happy and very proud of God.”

Ms Driza said she had stopped working as a cleaner and had been unemployed for two years.

Judge Stephens said the order banning identification of Judge J would remain.

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