Soul diva Amy Winehouse cautioned by police over assault

British singer Amy Winehouse arrives at a police station in London, Friday April 25, 2008, where she voluntarily appeared to be questioned in connection with an alleged assault that took place in the north London neighborhood of Camden. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)

Email|Print|Single Page| Text size – + By Jill Lawless

Associated Press Writer / April 27, 2008

LONDON—Amy Winehouse left a London police station Saturday after questioning about reports that she scuffled with two men during a raucous night out. She received a formal police caution for assault.

The caution means the 24-year-old soul diva has not been charged, but the incident will remain on the record and could count against her if she is ever charged with a similar offense in future.

Winehouse spent the night at Holborn Police Station in central London after arriving for questioning Friday afternoon.

Police said a 24-year-old woman had been cautioned for common assault. British police do not identify suspects who have not been charged.

A statement released by Winehouse spokesman Chris Goodman said the singer "admitted to a common assault by slapping a man with an open hand and accepted a caution."

"Amy was fully cooperative with inquiries and apologized for the incident," the statement said

A man was quoted in tabloid newspapers as saying Winehouse hit him when he got in her way while she was playing pool at a bar in the Camden neighborhood of London. He said she also head-butted another man who was trying to hail her a cab in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

Winehouse and her husband, Blake Fielder-Civil, were arrested in the Norwegian city of Bergen in October and held overnight on charges of drug possession. A video of her allegedly smoking crack hit the Internet shortly before she won five Grammys this year for her critically acclaimed album "Back to Black."

She was arrested in London in December on suspicion of attempting to interfere with a court case involving Fielder-Civil, but earlier this year police said prosecutors were no longer pursuing the matter.

Fielder-Civil is in jail awaiting trial on charges of perverting the course of justice stemming from a case in which he is accused of assaulting a barman.

Winehouse's musical career has flourished despite her erratic behavior, missed concerts and stints in drug rehab. The Sunday Times newspaper's annual Rich List this week estimated her wealth at $20 million.

Winehouse's spokesman said the singer was "looking forward to continuing her work on new music in the studio."