Rock enigma and poet in his own mind Pete Doherty pranced away from court scot-free today after charges of breaching his bail were dropped on a technicality.
The Babyshambles godhead was due to appear before West London magistrates after his arrest in Tower Hamlets, east London, yesterday.
But the charges, which follow his arrest for suspected drug possession after a performance at V festival, were scrapped when a judge ruled that the court had "no jurisdiction to deal with this matter", because Doherty was not made to appear within 24 hours of his being collared.
With that, the doe-eyed ne'er-do-well scarpered, flicking the prerequisite Vs at the paparazzi as he went. Meanwhile, his band – remember them? – have a single out on September 17, 'Delivery', which is a totally unsurprising ditty of mediocre standing, replete with the usual frustrating glimpses of Doherty's enduring 'genius'.