Kasabian have condemned their former frontman Tom Meighan’s “totally unacceptable” behaviour after he was convicted of assaulting his ex-fiancée.
The singer pleaded guilty to assaulting Vikki Ager as he appeared at Leicester Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, less than 24 hours after it was announced he’d left the band.
In a new statement, Kasabian said they had “no choice” but to ask Meighan to leave the group as there was “absolutely no way” they could condone his actions.
“Now that the legal proceedings have been concluded, we can comment,” the band said.
“No one in the band wanted this to happen. We have all worked so hard for the past 23 years and had big plans for our future together. We’re completely heartbroken.
“But we were left with no choice but to ask Tom to leave the band. There is absolutely no way we can condone his assault conviction. Domestic violence and abuse of any kind is totally unacceptable.”
Prior to his court appearance, Kasabain said that Meighan was quitting the group to focus on “personal issues” and “getting his life back on track”.
Following his conviction, the band said they had decided they “could no longer work with him” as soon as they found out about the charges.
“Unfortunately we had to hold back this information until he was found guilty in court,” the band – who are now made up of guitarist Serge Pizzorno, bassist Chris Edwards and drummer Ian Matthews – explained.
“We were led to believe that Tom would hold his hands up and in his statement tell everyone what he’d done but he chose not to, misleading a lot of fans”.
The statement added: “Ultimately, as much as Tom has hurt us all, we’re not the victim in all of this. Domestic violence is something that can never be excused.”
Kasabian’s statement came as domestic abuse charity Women’s Aid criticised Meighan’s sentence of 200 hours of unpaid work.
In court, it was heard how Ms Ager suffered bruising to her knees, left elbow, outer ankle and big toe as well as a reddening around the neck, which she confirmed to officers was as a result of the assault.
Prosecutor Naeem Valli told the court the offence “could be argued to be relatively serious”, describing it as a “sustained assault”.
Nicki Norman, the acting chief executive of Women’s Aid, called it an “inappropriate” sentence.
She told the Guardian: “Robust sentencing is important for ensuring abusers are brought to justice and for improving survivors’ confidence in the criminal justice system – which far too often they tell us fails to protect them.”
If you, or someone you know, is in immediate danger, call 999 and ask for the police. If you are not in immediate danger, you can contact:
- The Freephone 24 hour National Domestic Violence Helpline, run by Refuge: 0808 2000 247
- In Scotland, contact Scotland’s 24 hour Domestic Abuse and Forced Marriage Helpline: 0800 027 1234
- In Northern Ireland, contact the 24 hour Domestic & Sexual Violence Helpline: 0808 802 1414
- In Wales, contact the 24 hour Life Fear Free Helpline on 0808 80 10 800.
- National LGBT+ Domestic Abuse Helpline: 0800 999 5428
- Men’s Advice Line: 0808 801 0327
- Respect helpline (for anyone worried about their own behaviour): 0808 802 0321