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Jail term for Winehouse's husband | Jail term for Winehouse's husband |
(about 1 hour later) | |
Singer Amy Winehouse's husband has been jailed for 27 months for attacking a pub landlord and perverting the course of justice. | Singer Amy Winehouse's husband has been jailed for 27 months for attacking a pub landlord and perverting the course of justice. |
Blake Fielder-Civil, 26, of Camden, north London, admitted assaulting James King, 36, at the Macbeths pub in Hoxton, east London, in June 2006. | Blake Fielder-Civil, 26, of Camden, north London, admitted assaulting James King, 36, at the Macbeths pub in Hoxton, east London, in June 2006. |
He also admitted at Snaresbrook Crown Court trying to make Mr King withdraw his complaint using a £200,000 bribe. | He also admitted at Snaresbrook Crown Court trying to make Mr King withdraw his complaint using a £200,000 bribe. |
Three other men were also sentenced for perverting the course of justice. | Three other men were also sentenced for perverting the course of justice. |
Michael Brown, 40, from Carshalton, south London also admitted assault for his part in the attack, that left Mr King needing plates fitted into his face for a broken cheekbone. He was jailed for 33 months. | |
Anthony Kelly, 25, from Chalk Farm, north London, was given a custodial sentence of 20 months after admitting perverting the course of justice. | Anthony Kelly, 25, from Chalk Farm, north London, was given a custodial sentence of 20 months after admitting perverting the course of justice. |
You (Fielder-Civil) behaved in a gratuitous, cowardly and disgraceful way Judge David Radford How pub fight led to bribe claimsAmy and Blake: Love and turmoil | |
James Kennedy, 19, from Hatfield, Hertfordshire, who also admitted the charge, was given a 40-week sentence at a young offenders' institute, suspended for 12 months. | James Kennedy, 19, from Hatfield, Hertfordshire, who also admitted the charge, was given a 40-week sentence at a young offenders' institute, suspended for 12 months. |
Fielder-Civil has already spent nine months in jail on remand. | Fielder-Civil has already spent nine months in jail on remand. |
Judge David Radford said Fielder-Civil was high on alcohol and cocaine when he and Brown attacked Mr King outside the pub. | Judge David Radford said Fielder-Civil was high on alcohol and cocaine when he and Brown attacked Mr King outside the pub. |
He said Fielder-Civil joined in the attack "out of a mistaken sense of loyalty to your friend". | He said Fielder-Civil joined in the attack "out of a mistaken sense of loyalty to your friend". |
"The fact remains that in joining in that attack by kicking out at Mr King after he had already been both punched and kicked by Mr Brown you behaved in a gratuitous, cowardly and disgraceful way," Judge Radford said. | "The fact remains that in joining in that attack by kicking out at Mr King after he had already been both punched and kicked by Mr Brown you behaved in a gratuitous, cowardly and disgraceful way," Judge Radford said. |
Brown, Fielder-Civil's friend, was sentenced to 33 months in jail | |
Jeremy Dein QC, for Fielder-Civil, said his client had been thrown in to a "nightmare scenario" after the attack. | Jeremy Dein QC, for Fielder-Civil, said his client had been thrown in to a "nightmare scenario" after the attack. |
"[It's] not just for him but for his wife and his family," he said. | |
Mr Dein said the attack was the result of a "drugs-ridden lack of judgment rather than callousness". | Mr Dein said the attack was the result of a "drugs-ridden lack of judgment rather than callousness". |
"For almost half his life he has been in the clutches of drugs," he said. | "For almost half his life he has been in the clutches of drugs," he said. |
He said Fielder-Civil had a history of self-harm and suicide attempts but was determined to rebuild his life with his wife. | He said Fielder-Civil had a history of self-harm and suicide attempts but was determined to rebuild his life with his wife. |
'Calamity awaits' | |
He said: "It's their ambition to divorce themselves from hard drugs, not to separate themselves from each other. | He said: "It's their ambition to divorce themselves from hard drugs, not to separate themselves from each other. |
"He knows that if he fails, an appointment with calamity awaits, not just for him but for his wife as well." | "He knows that if he fails, an appointment with calamity awaits, not just for him but for his wife as well." |
Following the attack, Mr King was visited by Kelly, who, he claimed, tried to make him strike a deal to leave the country, making him unavailable to give evidence about the assault. | |
Kelly (left) and Kennedy acted as middle men in the deal | |
The plan was exposed when King and Kelly tried to sell the story and CCTV images of the assault to The Daily Mirror newspaper. | |
They increased the stakes when the newspaper showed little interest saying there was "a bigger story" and that there was a bribe to ensure that Fielder-Civil and Brown would not go to jail. | |
A journalist from the newspaper had asked whether Amy Winehouse was involved or not and was told by Kelly that she was paying for the bribe. | |
But the court heard that there was no evidence to suggest that the singer was part of the plot and she as a result faced no charges. | |
The court had heard that in November 2007, Mr King made a taped withdrawal statement. | |
But he told police Kelly had intimidated him telling him he had "no option" but to withdraw his evidence so that Fielder-Civil and Brown would be found not guilty of assault. | |
Mr King was found not guilty of perverting the course of justice at a trial in June. | Mr King was found not guilty of perverting the course of justice at a trial in June. |
Fielder-Civil's wife, Amy Winehouse was not at Snaresbrook Crown Court, where the sentencing took place. |