Professor Green admitted to drink driving at Bromley Magistrates Court last week, after he was arrested for the offence back in 2013.
The rapper, whose real name is Stephen Manderson, said that he had been mugged when arriving home after a night out with his wife. The court heard that Green got into his vehicle after his £40,000 Rolex was stolen and he feared his wife was being chased by the thief.
He had driven a short distance when he heard screams behind and him and attempted to reverse his car, hitting a parked van in the process.
The police attended the scene after receiving the report of an alleged mugging but when they arrived they arrested him for drink driving. Breath tests carried out show that his reading was 52 micrograms per 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35, although the police are under instructions not to prosecute for any readings below 40 to allow for a margin of error.
Manderson attended bail in November and was arrested on suspicion of attempting to pervert the course of justice, with the police alleging that he was making up the story about the mugging. The police later dropped the charge and David Hislop QC, representing the star at Court said it was ‘ludicrous’ to suggest that the mugging was a made up story.
After pleading guilty, Manderson was sentenced to a 12-month disqualification from driving and ordered to pay £400 fine, a £40 victim surcharge and £85 prosecution costs. The 12-month disqualification was the minimum that could be handed out for an offence of this type. He was clearly unhappy with the police after the hearing and said that he was disappointed it had taken this long for the matter to be dealt with, but praised the judge for being ‘fair and understanding.’
By Alex Garner, Paralegal in the Motoring team
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