Legal minds crack Da Vinci puzzle

Hours of work by London's top legal minds have answered the big question: what was the secret message in the Da Vinci Code judgment?

With the revelation that Justice Sir Peter Smith inserted a code of his own - italicised letters JAEIEXTOSTGPSACGREAMQWFKADPMQZVZ - into the finding that cleared author Dan Brown of copyright infringement, lawyers hustled to solve the puzzle.

In the end, one law firm found the answer was a simple phrase, reported the New York Times, a homage to early 20th-century Royal Navy Admiral Jackie Fisher. The phrase, confirmed by the judge: "Jackie Fisher who are you Dreadnought."

Sir Peter said via email he was not especially interested in codes: "I hate crosswords, and do not do Sudoku as I do not have the patience."