Fielder-Civil victim cleared

A jury has found an ex-pub landlord not guilty over claims he received a bribe from Amy Winehouse's husband.

James King, 36, was charged with conspiring to pervert the course of justice by accepting a £200,000 bribe to drop his assault complaint against Blake Fielder-Civil.

King claimed he was bullied into withdrawing his statement in the GBH case in November 2007, and denied conspiring to pervert the course of justice.

As the victim, King was to be the star witness in the grievous bodily harm trial of Fielder-Civil and Michael Brown.

The pair attacked King outside the east London pub that he ran in June 2006.

London's Snaresbrook Crown Court heard that despite suffering serious injuries, including a fractured cheekbone, King had agreed to a huge pay-off to withdraw his evidence and flee the country during the trial so the pair would be cleared.

Unknown to King, middlemen Anthony Kelly and James Kennedy had gone to the media claiming he'd taken a bribe to keep quiet.

They made secret recordings of meetings for the newspaper, which later went to the police.

Fielder-Civil, 26, of Camden, north London, has already pleaded guilty to inflicting grievous bodily harm and perverting the course of justice.

Brown, of Carshalton, Surrey, has admitted the same offences.

Kelly, 25, of Chalk Farm, north London, and Kennedy, 19, of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, have both pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice around November.

They are to be sentenced at a later date.

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