Express & Star

Paul Gascoigne WON'T be charged over 'race' joke at Wolverhampton's Civic Hall

Paul Gascoigne will not be charged over a potentially racist joke he cracked on stage in Wolverhampton, the Express & Star can reveal today.

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The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has decided not take any further action over an allegation of hate crime following the 'Evening With Gazza' show at the Civic Hall on November 30 last year.

Lawyers have spent several months considering information collected during a West Midlands Police investigation into a complaint about the star's conduct.

It is believed to have concentrated on a 'joke' the former England football star made during the show about a black security guard whom he spotted in a darkened corner of the stage and said he could not tell 'if he is smiling or not'.

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Witnesses reported that the comment was met with an audible gasp by the audience, although it was not clear whether the security guard heard the remark at the time.

Neither the victim nor the complainant has been identified.

A senior lawyer with the CPS in the Midlands considered the case and reached a decision on the suitability of launching a prosecution. The finding was sent for a second opinion by another CPS lawyer in London because a public figure was involved.

Gascoigne on stage at Wolverhampton Civic Hall

CPS officials today confirmed that it had been decided not to take any further action.

They were unwilling to make a formal statement on the issue but a representative of Gazza has been informed of their decision.

His agent Terry Baker told the Express&Star: "We are relieved that it has been dropped." He declined to comment further.

It is understood that a third CPS lawyer could now be asked to consider the case under rules which allow a victim or complainant to seek a review of a decision not to charge, to discontinue or otherwise terminate legal proceedings.

On rare occasions this can trigger a change of mind.

Last month Gazza insisted during a TV interview that he was 'back to his best after two-day blip' in his struggle with alcoholism. In March he had been photographed clutching a bottle of gin and being escorted by a police officer in his home town of Poole, Dorset.

Later, more photographs emerged of the ex-Wolves trialist, showing cuts and bruising to his nose, lip and forehead. Gazza, who has had a drink problem for more than 20 years, later said that the relapse was a 'blip'.

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