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George Michael leaves prison

By | Published on Tuesday 12 October 2010

George Michael is no longer in prison, but do not fear, owners of photo developing shops, he’s still being closely watched by the authorities for the time being.

As previously reported, last month Michael was sentenced to four weeks in the slammer and four more on licence, meaning he will be supervised by the probation service, after he drove his car into a branch of Snappy Snaps in north London while under the influence of cannabis. He was also fined £1250 and banned from driving for five years.

Having served his four weeks jail time, Michael was freed from Haverhill Prison in Suffolk yesterday morning, having been transferred there from Pentonville a couple of weeks ago. He returned to his London home where he later stepped outside for the paps, and bantered with the waiting journalists about how he felt wonderful, that he was “back”, that it was a beautiful day, and that the blue sky had just provided the inspiration for a new song.

Though, beyond that, the cheerful Michael said very little and avoided answering any specific questions. So much so, most media attention focused on pop’s other druggy George, who’d been talking to that leading news agency, Magic 105.4FM.

Boy George revealed he had written letters to Michael over the last few weeks, providing moral support and tips to his one-time friend and recent verbal sparring partner, himself having served a short prison sentence rather recently of course. The former Culture Club man said: “You just send your love and let people know you’re thinking of them – all the cliches, but they do help”.

He added that Michael’s sentencing had made the trauma of his time in prison all come back to him: “When George Michael got sentenced, it all came back to me and I was with him. You just go numb – completely numb. You go into survival mode; shut down. You don’t know what’s going to happen. After the trial you’re taken downstairs, put in a room, the door gets locked and from then on it’s a mystery”.

He continued: “I was with George Michael in that holding cell under the court. I was with him, handcuffed, in that hideous police van. I was with him arriving at Pentonville prison and having that kind of physical search. I relived the whole thing. I felt so, so upset. I don’t think I’ve been that upset since it happened to me”.



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