Banned: Actress Barbara Knox
A judge has laid into Corrie legend Barbara Knox for taking nearly a year to admit her guilt over a drink-driving charge and wasting court time and money.
The soap star, who has played Rita Tanner for the past 44 years, had hired celebrity lawyer Nick “Mr Loophole” Freeman to fight her case after she was arrested last March and strenuously denied any wrongdoing.
But she dramatically pleaded guilty when she appeared before a judge who banned her for a year. The actress was also fined £3,000 and ordered to pay and £1,750 costs.
Knox admitted making a “terrible error of judgment” and apologised for driving after a boozy lunchtime session with her daughter Maxine Ashcroft.
But District Judge Bridget Knight told the 81-year-old: “An enormous amount of court time has been expended, and expense expended, by the Crown Prosecution Service and by you.”
Mr Freeman said Knox, who drove while over the limit despite being warned by police in Knutsford, Cheshire, not to, “bitterly regrets her actions”.
Paul Cousans/Zenpix
Banned: Barbara Knox leaves Crewe Magistrates Court after pleading guilty to drink driving
Banned: Barbara Knox leaves Crewe Magistrates Court after pleading guilty to drink driving
He told the court: “My client offers her profound apologies.
“This matter has left her totally distraught as she sees drink-driving as a very serious offence indeed.
“She does not seek to justify her terrible error of judgment, she accepts she was the author of her own misfortune.
"She was given advice in terms of not driving and regrets not taking advantage of the advice that police had offered her.
“This is clearly a case where her judgement had been anaesthetised by alcohol and events preceding the arrest.”
The lawyer, who it is claimed charge clients £10,000 a day, added: “Ms Knox now suffers the indignity of forfeiting her previous good character.”
Knox, whose hearing was brought forward by two weeks after her guilty plea, was being driven in her daughter’s Jaguar when police pulled them over.
A member of the public had dialled 999 believing 56-year-old Ashcroft was drunk at the wheel.
She was breathalysed at Middlewich police station and found to be three times the limit.
Knox later turned up at Knutsford police station thinking that’s where her daughter was.
Paul Cousans/Zenpix
Banned: Barbara Knox leaves court after pleading guilty to drink driving
She was holding the Jaguar’s keys, “slurring” her words and “emotional”, Crewe magistrates court heard.
Prosecutor Jonathan Egan said: “She was offered a lift home by officers but declined. She was warned if she drove she’d be stopped and arrested.
"Ms Knox walked to a car park. Police followed her and saw her reverse from a car park bay. They carried out a breath test.”
Results showed Knox, of Knutsford, had 50mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood. The legal limit is 35.
When the screen veteran first appeared at court last April she claimed she was manhandled by police.
She also said: “I’ll be pleading not guilty.”
Judge Knight pointed out if she had admitted the crime back then her ban would be almost over.
She told Knox, also ordered to pay a £120 victim surcharge: “I give you credit for your contrition, regret and acknowledgment police did try to stop you driving.”
The actress agreed to go on a drink-drive awareness course to help reduce her sentence.
Ashcroft, from Lechlade, Glos, was banned from driving for two years.
No comments:
Post a Comment