- guardian.co.uk, Thursday December 23 1999 01.39 GMT
But for the firm grip of his wife's arm, guiding him through the waiting press throng, he might have turned on his heel and run back inside. Gone was the self-confidence. In its place was a gaping mouth, weary eyes and a look of utter disbelief.
Yet even in ignominious defeat, the Hamiltons seem unable to live out their lives except through the media. Neil subjected himself to John Humphrys on the Today programme; Christine, who has reportedly been signed up by a tabloid newspaper, restricted herself to the favoured forum of the scandal-hit: Derek Hatton's Talk Radio phone-in.
"Yes, I do feel broken," Mr Hamilton told Humphrys. "But broken bones can be mended, and we will have to do our best to regroup and restart our lives and point in a different direction."
Mr Hamilton admitted he was broke. "I am certainly going to have to sell my house because I put everything I owned in the world to fund this legal action - I personally will have literally nothing left."
Mr Hamilton said he had to accept that it was the end of the legal battle. But the jury had been wrong. "Juries can make mistakes - I am sure that the members of the jury have in all good faith reached the decision they have after a lot of heart searching. I am not blaming them in any way, but the fact of the matter is that they have made a mistake."
He had no regrets. "I know what the truth is. A lot of people won't believe me but if I had not been able to continue I would never have been able to live with myself thereafter."
Despite his despondency, the Hamilton stoicism stood out. "We will survive. Whether we will prosper is another matter."
Christine added: "We don't know where we can go from here. There probably isn't any avenue open to us. We've just got to try and rebuild our lives which have obviously been completely and utterly shattered."
But she said: "When you've got the truth on your side, however steep the mountain, it's worth climbing."
Mrs Hamilton insisted they would not be broken by the verdict. "Neil certainly will be bankrupt. That's the hard, cold fact. It will be dreadful, but we've got to face up to it."
After the interviews, it was time to face the press. Christine, clad in trademark red and black checked trousers, placed her bejewelled hand firmly around his waist, as he endured the frenetic camera flashes and mocking questions. "Don't panic, we're not rushing off," she cried, taking control.
"I am not going to make any comment except to wish you a merry Christmas," Neil said.
As the couple made their way to their car, Mrs Hamilton declared she was "in Christmas spirit", and they were heading for Cheshire. "We just want to get away."
The flowers she held, she said, were from friends, "hundreds" of whom had been in touch to offer their support.
As she told radio listeners earlier: "We've got the most important things in life. We've got each other, we've got the truth - and we have the most unbelievable group of friends, and we've got our health. Even when we've lost our house and we're bankrupt, we've got a darn sight more than other people, and for that we're thankful. We can survive."
