Content warning: This article discusses domestic violence
Former Kasabian singer Tom Meighan – who announced he was parting ways with the band earlier this week – has plead guilty to assaulting his former fiancée Vikki Ager.
The BBC reports that Meighan admitted to assaulting Ager on the night of Thursday, 9th April, while smelling “heavily of intoxicants”. He reportedly threw Ager across a room, grabbed her leg while she was seated in a chair, and also hit her on the head. As a result of the assault, Ager suffered bruising to her knees, ankle, elbow and toe as well as reddening around the neck.
The assault reportedly took place in front of a child, who called 999 to report that “a domestic incident was taking place”. At the time of the call, Ager could be heard saying “get off me, get off me.” Meighan initially denied the charges, but pled guilty after witnessing footage of the assault.
Meighan has been sentenced to 200 hours of community service, and will be required to complete five days of rehabilitation along with paying £175 in legal fees.
It was announced just days ago that Meighan was leaving the Leicester rock band he co-founded in 1997. In a statement at the time, the band commented that Meighan was stepping down from the band “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,” read the statement.
Meighan posted a tweet confirming the news on July 6, saying, “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.”
https://twitter.com/MeighanOfficial/status/1280130108049817600
Earlier today, Kasabian issued an updated statement, saying they are able to comment further on the departure of Meighan now that legal proceedings have concluded.
“We were left but no choice but to ask Tom to leave the band,” the statement reads. “There is absolutely no way we can condone his assault conviction. Domestic violence and abuse of any kind is totally unacceptable.”
“As soon as we found out about the charges made against Tom, we as a band made the decision that we could no longer work with him. Unfortunately we had to hold back this information until he was found guilty in court.”
The band go on to say they believed Meighan would comment on the reason for his departure in his statement, but that he chose not to, accusing their former frontman of “misleading a lot of fans”.
See the full statement from Kasabian below.
Now that the legal proceedings have been concluded, we can comment on the departure of Tom Meighan from the band. Full statement below. Kasabian x pic.twitter.com/vP7Y61sxQA
— KasabianHQ (@KasabianHQ) July 7, 2020
If you need assistance, 1800 RESPECT – the National Sexual Assault, Domestic and Family Violence Counselling Service — can be reached on 1800 737 732.
For help or information regarding mental health, contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue on 1300 224 636.
