Rolling Stones

[Johnny]

08/2005 - The National Archive have released a confidential file concerning Rolling Stones singer Mick Jagger accusing police of trying to plant cannabis at his home after a raid in 1969.

Jagger had accused Detective Sergeant Robin Constable and other officers of attempting to plant cannabis at the home he shared with Miss Faithfull in Cheyne Walk, Chelsea, during a raid on May 28, 1969, and trying to force him to pay a bribe," the paper reports.

Jagger had previously been arrested for possessing cannabis in 1967 where he was jailed for a year but got out after three days thanks to an appeal.

The second accusation resulted in Jagger being fined £200, with 50 guineas costs but "his allegations gave him the satisfaction of forcing the Metropolitan Police to carry out an internal investigation".

Nothing new will come of the file being released, but it does shed some light on how the singer was perceived by the authorities at the time.

"Michael Jagger is an intelligent young man, and doubtless is on the fringe, if not embroiled, in the world of users of dangerous drugs," wrote Detective Chief Superintendent William Wilson in March 1970.

After all that, the Director of Public Prosecutions agreed that it was Jagger's word against the police and that no further action should be taken.

27/02/2004 - ROLLING STONES frontman Sir Mick Jagger claimed he was framed by police following his arrest for cannabis possession in 1969.

The Brown Sugar singer, 60, was arrested with his then-girlfriend Marianne faithful in his Chelsea, west London, apartment during a raid led by the head of the local drug squad, Detective Sergeant Robin Constable.

Papers released today (23FEB04) by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) show an internal inquiry was conducted at Scotland Yard (British police headquarters) after the rocker alleged he had been framed by police and was offered a bribe by cops to let him off the possession charges.

Constable told the inquiry he decided to inspect Jagger's flat after he was contacted by "an informant" who told him there was marijuana at the singer's home.

Jagger was outside the house as he was presented with a search warrant. According to Constable, Jagger shouted, "Marianne, Marianne, don't open the door. It's the police. They're after the weed."

Officers claim they found the illegal substance in a white CARTIER box in the sitting room and a large lump of hashish in a desk drawer.

Jagger, who was fined $380 (GBP200) for possession the following year (70), strongly denied the allegations as soon as he was taken in by police.

The rocker said, "I didn't say anything like, 'Marianne, it's the law, they're after the weed.' I couldn't have done because someone had their hand over my mouth. I simply wouldn't have shouted that or used the word weed. It is the most archaic expression, which is never used."

Jagger claims Constable walked straight over to the Cartier box and enthused, "We won't have to look much further," to which a furious Jagger replied, "You b**tard, you've planted me."

Jagger alleges Constable said the star could escape without charges if he paid up $1,900 (GBP1,000).

The DPP have studied the reports, but concluded there was insufficient evidence to bring the policeman to court for corruption.

1967: Two Rolling Stones on drugs charges

Mick Jagger and Keith Richards of rock band the Rolling Stones have appeared before magistrates in Chichester, West Sussex, charged with drug offences.

The magistrates heard that after a tip-off, police raided Mr Richards's mansion in Redlands Road, West Wittering on the evening of Sunday 12 February during a party.

They searched the house, interviewed eight men and one woman and found various tablets and substances that were later examined by the Metropolitan Police Laboratory.

During the police raid, officers took away a number of items including Chinese joss sticks suspected of masking the sweet smell of cannabis resin and pudding basins holding cigarette ash.

Stones' lead singer Mr Jagger, 24, has been accused of illegally possessing four tablets containing a*********e sulphate and m***************e hydrochloride.

Guitarist Mr Richards, also 24, is charged with allowing his house to be used for the purpose of smoking cannabis.

Both Mr Jagger and Mr Richards pleaded not guilty and were released on bail to appear for trial at West Sussex Quarter Sessions on 22 June.

Outside the court, a crowd of young fans were waiting to see the stars but the two men were driven away in a chauffeur-driven car from the back of the building.

A third man, 29-year-old Robert Fraser, a gallery owner has been charged with possession of h****n and eight capsules of m***************e hydrochloride.

In Context :
During the widely publicised trial, the prosecution said the only woman at the house - singer Marianne Faithful and Jagger's girlfriend - was dressed in nothing but a fur rug that she let slip occasionally. They claimed her lack of inhibition was a sign that she was under the influence of cannabis.

On 29 June, the judge sentenced Jagger to three months for possession of a**********s and Richards to one year in jail for allowing cannabis to be smoked in his home.

But in August the sentences - considered very harsh for first offences - were quashed on appeal.

The Stones continued to dabble in drugs and break the law as befitted their wild image. Richards at one point became a h****n addict. But by the turn of the century the band had become an institution as the longest-running rock group in history.

Mick Jagger was awarded a knighthood in the Queen's Birthday Honours list in June 2002.