Tom Meighan has been sentenced to 200 hours of unpaid work after pleading guilty to assaulting his former fiancee Vikki Ager.
The former Kasabian singer appeared at Leicester Magistrates Court to face a charge of assault. It came a day after Meighan announced he had left the band due to “personal issues”.
The court heard that Meighan “smelt heavily of intoxicants” during the incident on 9 April.
A child is said to have witnessed the attack and called 999 to say a “domestic incident was taking place”.
Prosecutor Naeem Valli said police described Ms Ager as “visibly upset” while Meighan was “un-cooperative and aggressive”.
At the time of the call, Ager could be heard saying “get off me, get off me.”
Ms Ager suffered bruising to her knees, outer ankle, left elbow, and big toe as well as reddening around the neck, which she confirmed to police was a result of the assault.
Defending Meighan, Michelle Heeley QC said the singer “offers his sincere apologies to the people he has let down and he has sought to address his offending behaviour”.
Mr Valli also told the court that the offence was a “sustained assault” and it “could be argued to be relatively serious”.
Announcing his departure yesterday, Kasabian said Meighan wanted to “concentrate all his energies on getting his life back on track”.
A statement read: “Tom Meighan is stepping down from Kasabian by mutual consent. Tom has struggled with personal issues that have affected his behaviour for quite some time and now wants to concentrate all his energies on getting his life back on track. We will not be commenting further.”
Referencing the news in a tweet of his own, Meighan wrote: “Following today’s announcement I just wanted to let you all know that I am doing well.
“I’m in a really good place now. Thanks for all your love and support. I’ll be seeing you all very soon.”
Meighan had been the lead singer with the group since their inception in Leicester in 1997.
Joined by an original line-up that included guitarist and close friend Sergio Pizzorno, the group went on to become one of Britain’s biggest rock bands – headlining Glastonbury Festival in 2014 and Reading & Leeds in both 2012 and 2014.
It is yet to be confirmed if Kasabian will continue to tour and record live music in the wake of Meighan’s departure.
Yesterday (July 6), NME published a blog relating to Tom Meighan’s departure from Kasabian. This was written before we were aware of the assault charges made against him. As soon as we were made aware, the offending article was removed from our website.”
If you’ve been affected by domestic abuse you can contact Refuge’s freephone National Domestic Abuse Helpline on 0808 2000 247. Donate to Refuge here.