A pub landlord assaulted by the husband of Amy Winehouse reportedly took a bribe of £200,000 to drop the charges.
Blake Fielder-Civil, the singer's husband, and Michael Brown, 25, from Holloway, north London, admitted charges of grievously bodily harm in the last week, having attacked James King, 36, at the Macbeth pub in Hoxton, east London in June 2006
But although Mr King was hospitalised following the incident, he was prepared to strike a deal to save his attackers from jail, Snaresbrook crown court heard today.
Prosecutor Sean Larkin told the court that after the intervention of middle men Anthony Kelly, 25, from Chalk Farm, north-west London, and James Kennedy, 19, from Hatfield, Hertfordshire, King agreed to accept a bribe to "throw the case".
"King would prepare what is known as a withdrawal or retraction statement saying he no longer wished to pursue the prosecution," he explained.
It was agreed that King would leave the country, making him ineligible to give evidence at Fielder-Civil and Brown's trial, but the plot was exposed when King and Kelly attempted to sell the story to a tabloid newspaper.
The pair boasted that that they had a "bigger story" than the assault and revealed the attempted bribery.
Mr Larkin explained: "[Daily Mirror journalist] Stephen Moyes asked whether or not Amy Winehouse was involved.
"He was told by Kelly, 'who do you think is paying for it, of course she is'."
However, police confirmed in February that the Back to Black star would not be charged, due to a lack of evidence connecting her to the case.
Fielder-Civil, Kelly, Kennedy and Brown have admitted perverting the course of justice but King denies the charge.
10/06/2008 16:49:05
See Also
