Ringo Starr‘s granddaughter was ordered to pay £440 for practising with her band during lockdown – but has asked if the fine can be ‘overturned if Boris Johnson is cleared of breaking Covid rules’, a court has heard.
Tatia Starkey, 36, who is the daughter of Ringo’s son Zak, ‘illegally participated in a gathering of two or more people’ after officers attended her address in Queens Park, northwest London, at 1.30am on 10 February last year.
The bass player, who performs under the stage name Veronica Avant and plays in Indie band Belakiss, told Westminster Magistrates Court: ‘I’m a musician and three people came over to practice.’
Starkey today admitted participating in a gathering of two or more people in private dwelling this morning and was handed a £400 fine and also given a £40 victim surcharge.
Appearing via video-link, Starkey asked whether her ‘fine would be overturned if Scotland Yard’s verdict into Partygate found Boris Johnson not guilty’.
Judge Daniel Sternberg said he can only deal with the matter before the court and he has a right to appeal the decision.
Starkey claimed she earns ‘£800 a month from working in a coffee shop two days a week, as well as receiving £1,400 a month from her father’.
She said she has not made any money from the band as the music industry is hard at the moment.
It comes as the PM is nervously awaiting the conclusions of the Scotland Yard investigation, which covers around half-a-dozen events he attended during lockdown.
Tatia Starkey, 36, (Pictured) who is the daughter of Ringo’s son Zak, ‘illegally participated in a gathering of two or more people’ after officers attended her address in Queens Park, northwest London, at 1.30am on 10 February last year
Ringo Starr pictured with his first wife Maureen Starkey and their newborn baby Zak, Starkey’s father, in 1965
Prosecutor Jordan Pratt said police officers heard ‘loud music and ‘singing’ when they attended Starkey’s address last February.
Mr Pratt said: ‘They immediately heard the sound of loud music and people singing.
‘Officers knocked several times until the door opened.
‘The defendant confirmed that she was the occupier of the address and the other people did not live there.’
When police officers attended her address, Starkey said they were ‘all part of a band’ and ‘they finished work and they were letting their hair down and enjoying themselves’, said Mr Pratt.
‘The officers heard loud music being played and they were drinking alcohol,’ he continued.
Appearing via video-link, Starkey asked whether her ‘fine would be overturned if Scotland Yard’s verdict into Partygate found Boris Johnson (pictured) not guilty’
On 8 September, she was convicted under the single justice procedure of participating in the illegal gathering in Chevening Road, Queens Park, on 10 February 2021 while London was in Tier 4 lockdown.
But at the last hearing on 8 March, Starkey successfully applied to reopen the case after explaining all the court papers were sent to her old address.
Starkey considered changing her plea to not guilty, saying: ‘It’s complicated.’
Zak Starkey, is drummer for The Who and has also drummed for Oasis.
He married Tatia’s Starkey mother Sarah Medikides when she was born in 1985 – the first of Starr’s eight grandchildren.
In 2016, Starkey had a child with Adam Low, making Starr a great-grandfather.
The bass player, who performs under the stage name Veronica Avant and plays in Indie band Belakiss, told Westminster Magistrates Court: ‘I’m a musician and three people came over to practice’
With dark hair and a heavy fringe, Starkey shares a strong resemblance with her grandmother Maureen Starkey – Starr’s first wife – who passed away from leukaemia in 1994.
Starkey, of Bracknell, Berkshire, previously appeared in court wearing a furry leopard print coat and wore her dark hair tied up in a high ponytail.
She was due to appear via video-link today (thurs) for a case management hearing to set a trial date, but she changed her plea to guilty and was fined £400.
Starkey was also charged £85 in prosecution costs and £40 victim surcharge following the hearing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court.
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