The indie rock musician Pete Doherty was jailed for six months after being filmed taking crack cocaine by documentary-maker Robyn Whitehead the day before she died of heroin poisoning.
The Babyshambles singer, who was due to play a Glasgow gig on Friday was instead beginning his third prison term. A judge said that he had an "appalling record" of committing offences, having made 13 other court appearances. Doherty, 32, had pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine.
Describing the circumstances as "tragic", Judge David Radford at Snaresbrook crown court said police became aware of the footage taken by Whitehead, 27, following her "sad death".
Whitehead was the granddaughter of Edward "Teddy" Goldsmith, founder of the Ecologist magazine. Her mother, Dido, is a cousin of Jemima Khan and Zac Goldmith and her father is film-maker Peter Whitehead. She had spent the last 10 days of her life making a film about Doherty, the court heard.
Footage showed the former Libertines singer using a knife to cut from a "white block" before placing the substance in a crack pipe in the Hackney flat of his friend Peter Wolfe, on 23 January last year, the court heard.
The previous day Wolfe was filmed smoking from the same pipe before passing it to Whitehead and helping her to light it. She was found dead in Wolfe's flat on 24 January.
Wolfe pleaded guilty to two counts of cocaine possession and one of supplying cocaine to Whitehead. He was sentenced to 12 months' imprisonment.
Sentencing, the judge said he had made it "abundantly clear" that Whitehead's death was not caused by that supply of crack cocaine. "Unhappily and tragically that woman died from the poisoning of another illegal class A drug which she had chosen to take," he said. "The grief and loss to her family and friends caused by her death cannot, and should not, be sought in any way to be expiated by the sentence I pass today."
Prosecutor Alison Morgan said that paramedics were called to the east London flat at 8pm on 24 January. But despite attempts to resuscitate Whitehead, she was pronounced dead shortly afterwards. Toxicology reports found she had a combination of cocaine and heroin in her body. Police seized a crack pipe and other drug paraphernalia, along with video footage Whitehead had taken.
Morgan said the drugs offences for which the two men had been charged had been committed between 22 and 24 January, but that the crack cocaine that Wolfe had supplied to Whitehead could not have been to blame for her death.
Doherty, clean-shaven but dishevelled, despite wearing a grey suit with waistcoat, navy blue cravat and a red handkerchief in the top pocket, sat alongside Wolfe in the dock, flanked by three security officers.
Peter Ratliff, defending, said in mitigation that the singer was renowned for his drug abuse. "Any claim that this defendant somehow glamorises drug use is misguided. He takes no pleasure in his addiction. It's one thing he's said publicly, he would not wish upon his worst enemy. He is acutely aware of the agonising nature of addiction." He added that Doherty could be heard refusing to give Whitehead the crack pipe himself.
Ratliff said Doherty, who has recently been touring as a solo artist, was busier than ever with his music career, starring in a film, and designing his own clothing range. He added that were he to be jailed, the star would be letting down countless people he works with.
Addressing Doherty, the judge said: "There is no doubt you are a talented and successful musician." But he said Doherty should receive an "appropriate penalty", regardless of his career. The singer waved to friends at the back of the court as he was led to the cells.
Doherty has previously said that he was "shocked and saddened" by Whitehead's death. Elaine Stapleton, defending Wolfe, said he was "genuinely remorseful", was currently on methadone and had moved to Maidstone, Kent, in a bid to get over his drug addiction.
Outside court, Sarah Clarke, a friend of Whitehead's said of her friendship with the defendants: "She was not like them. She was not a drug addict in any way. She just got swept away".
Doherty's record
The court heard details of Doherty's lengthy list of previous convictions.
He was first arrested for possessing drugs in October 2005 and since then has repeatedly admitted possession of class A substances.
In 2008, he served 29 days of a 14-week sentence in Wormwood Scrubs prison after being arrested on drugs charges the previous year.
In 2003 he admitted burgling the home of former Libertines bandmate Carl Barat and was sentenced to six months in prison, later cut to two on appeal.