Police Raid Winehouse Flat

Police have raided Amy Winehouse’s London home and later arrested her husband Blake Fielder-Civil and three others, with the Daily Mirror claiming it had tipped them off about a plot to derail an upcoming trial.

Three uniformed offices and a number of detectives were reported to have used a battering ram and a crowbar to break down the door of the home the couple share in Camden, north London.

The raid took place at 4.45pm November 8, after the police had been "tipped off by the Mirror," but nobody was at home.

Television news footage filmed later showed a couple of police officers standing guard outside the property, while a crowd of reporters and photographers hovered in the background.

The November 9 editions of the Mirror splashed the story over the first five pages.

The front had a picture of Fielder-Civil and others apparently being arrested at a flat in Bow, East London, shortly after the Camden raid.

The paper carried a graphic report of the second raid, including details of Winehouse calling to her husband as he was "bundled into an unmarked people carrier."

It claims it had mounted an undercover operation to expose "a plot to halt a trial in which Fielder-Civil and pal Michael Brown are accused of assaulting a barman causing GBH with intent."

It says, "It is claimed £200,000 would have been paid to the alleged victim James King to withdraw his police statement. He would also be flown out of the country before the hearing in the hope that the case against Fielder-Civil, 25, and Brown – due November 12 – would eventually collapse."

The Mirror also says part of its investigation included King – who’s said to have needed metal plates fitted in his face as a result of his injuries – being filmed "withdrawing his allegations about the assault."

Most of the other papers quoted a Scotland Yard spokeswoman confirming the arrests are part of "an ongoing police operation" and saying "we can’t give any more information at present," although they also reported that the raids are believed to be part of an operation to prevent an attempt to pervert the course of justice.

Perverting the course of justice carries a theoretical maximum sentence of life imprisonment in the U.K., although sentences of four or five years are the usual maximum.

Attempting to pervert the course of justice, which is all any of the defendants could be charged with in relation to an upcoming trial, would carry a likely max of no more than two.

There’s no suggestion that Winehouse is in any way connected with the alleged plot, and the police spokeswoman has confirmed that she’s not among the people who’ve been arrested.

It’s still put her back on the front page, where she’s frequently been featured for her heavy drinking and drug usage.

At the same time, her Back to Black album has won universal acclaim and has sold millions. She’s also picked up a string of awards including best female solo artist at the Brits, female artist of the year at the Mobo Awards and the "artist’s choice" at the November 1 MTV Europe Music Awards at Munich Olympiahalle.