EXCLUSIVE: Karen Matthews’ duped best friend gets new job in same court complex where Britain’s worst mother was finally sent to prison for faking her own daughter’s kidnap

• READ MORE: Karen Matthews smokes a cigarette with her paedophile boyfriend

A woman at the heart of the notorious Shannon Matthews affair – later played by Sheridan Smith in a dramatisation – has got a job in the same court complex at which the abducted schoolgirl’s scheming mother Karen was finally sent to prison.

Julie Bushby was the duped best friend of Karen Matthews who led the campaign to find Shannon when she disappeared, not knowing she had been taken by her own mother in a bizarre fake kidnap.

Now, in a new twist in the saga, Bushby has started working as a black gowned usher at Leeds Magistrate Court – in the same court complex where Matthews eventually went on trial.

Bushby now commutes daily to the court from the end of terrace house on The Moorside estate in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, which became a base for briefing the media when Shannon’s disappearance became a global story in 2008.

Bushby was Karen’s friend and neighbour who was at the centre of organising the search party for ‘missing’ Shannon. She also chaired the estate’s residents and tenants association that helped uncover the shocking truth about the cruel scam.

A woman at the heart of the notorious Shannon Matthews affair has got a job in the same court complex at which the abducted schoolgirl’s scheming mother Karen was finally sent to prison (pictured: Shannon Matthews’ mother Karen, right, and then-partner Craig Meehan, left, appeal outside local community centre)

Julie Bushby (pictured) was the duped best friend of Karen Matthews who led the campaign to find Shannon when she disappeared, not knowing she had been taken by her own mother in a bizarre fake kidnap

Bushby (pictured) has started working as a black gowned usher at Leeds Magistrate Court – in the same court complex where Matthews eventually went on trial

Bushby later told a Channel 5 documentary she felt ‘hurt and conned’ by Matthews after she deceived the public.

READ MORE: New life of Britain’s worst mother: Karen Matthews smokes a cigarette with her paedophile boyfriend on the 15th anniversary of her bungled bid to claim £50,000 by staging kidnap of her daughter Shannon

She added: ‘The whole community were let down. We were foolish enough to believe what came out of her mouth and her family’s mouths.

‘As a community I think we should still be proud of ourselves. You’d have to live through it to believe it.’

The nation was stunned when – 24 days after she went missing – Shannon was found hidden in the divan bed at the home of Karen’s fiancé Craig Meehan’s uncle, Michael Donovan.

Julie has disputed claims that Karen cooked up the scam in a bid to claim the £50,000 reward money for finding Shannon.

She claims Karen was trying to get away from Meehan.

The two pals have not kept in touch over the years even though Bushby visited Matthews in prison.

The court where Julie works now is just a stone’s throw from the city’s crown court complex where the sensational kidnap trial took place.

For a seat on the press bench at Leeds journalists needed a ticket. Only a handful got to sit in the same room as Matthews and Donovan, their legal teams, the jury and the judge Mr Justice McCombe.

The remainder watched it in an adjacent courtroom via a live video link.

Julie Bushby gave evidence against her friend at the trial in November 2008.

It helped convict Matthews who was found guilty in December and later jailed for eight years, the same as Donovan.

Julie, played by Smith in The Moorside, the TV drama about the case, refused to comment when asked about her new job.

As a court usher, she is responsible for ticking off defendants as they arrive at court and calling them into one of the courtrooms when their case is on.

Those making their initial court appearance at the court include those facing charges for the most serious offences such as rape and murder.

After making their initial appearances at the lower court their cases are then sent to the crown court for sentence.

Court ushers, now known as court administration officers, start on £18,000 a year but can earn £24,500 a year with experience.

Leeds Magistrates’ Court (pictured) where Julie works now is just a stone’s throw from the city’s crown court complex where the sensational kidnap trial took place

Bushby was later played by Sheridan Smith (centre) in a dramatisation

Shannon was raised by a new family under a new identity and is now an adult 

Matthews is notorious for faking the kidnap of her nine-year-old daughter, Shannon

The crime had been a plot between Matthews and Michael Donovan, the uncle of her then boyfriend, to claim £50,000 of reward money 

Applicants only need a couple of GCSEs to apply but according to the job description ‘legal knowledge including court procedures’ is seen as a definite advantage for those trying to get a foot in the door.

They are employed by the Ministry of Justice and subject to enhanced background checks.

Having checked the required witnesses, defendants and lawyers are present, a court usher will also call defendants and witnesses into court and direct the taking of oaths.

Other duties might include labelling evidence and passing that evidence to the judge and jury and passing messages between lawyers and legal advisers.

Court ushers wear dark clothes and calf-length black gowns. When promoted, they can become supervising ushers, overseeing a team.

Neighbours on the Moorside were aware of Julie’s job. One said: ‘She keeps herself very busy.’

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