A pub landlord who was beaten up by Amy Winehouse’s husband accepted a £200,000 bribe to try to save his attacker from jail, a court heard today.

Despite suffering a fractured cheekbone in the June 2006 beating by Blake Fielder-Civil and his friend Michael Brown, the publican, James King, was ready to be bought off, the court was told.

“The deal was that Mr King would take money effectively to throw the case, not turn up, and withdraw his allegation,” said Sean Larkin, for the prosecution. “By that route it was hoped Mr Brown and Mr Fielder-Civil would be found not guilty.”

Fielder-Civil, 26, and Brown, 39, attacked Mr King, 36, outside the Macbeth pub in Hoxton, London, in June 2006, leaving him with a fractured cheekbone.

Brown had previously dated one of Mr King's friends and “for whatever reason there was a grievance” felt by him, the jury heard.

With the help of two middle men Mr King struck a deal whereby he would simply not turn up at court, and perhaps go abroad, while the case ran, in order to ensure that Fielder-Civil and Brown would be found not guilty of grievous bodily harm with intent, Mr Larkin said.

The alleged middlemen were Anthony Kelly and James Kennedy. But the two men had decided to reveal details of the plot when they realised it had “news value” and contacted the Daily Mirror. They also allegedly tried to sell the images of the attack caught on CCTV.

They first met Stephen Moyes, a Daily Mirror journalist, in October 2007 but by this point the conspiracy was “already up and running”, the jury was told.

Mr Larkin said Mr Moyes had asked the men whether Winehouse was involved in the payment. “Who do you think is paying for it? Of course she is,” Kelly reportedly said. There is no evidence to suggest Miss Winehouse was involved in the plot.

Mr King later said he had been the victim of everything that had gone on and had been intimidated. He denies the charge of perverting the course of justice with Brown, Fielder-Civil, Kennedy and Kelly.

Both Fielder-Civil and Brown have pleaded guilty to grievous bodily harm with intent and to perverting the course of justice. Kennedy and Kelly have also pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice.

While the maximum sentence for grievous bodily harm is five years, perverting the course of justice can bring a sentence of anything up to life imprisonment.

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