David Haye cleared of assault as judge rules he has no case to answer

Former boxing champion David Haye has been cleared of assault after a judge ruled he had no case to answer.

Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring told Westminster Magistrates' Court on Tuesday afternoon after hearing all the prosecution's evidence and reviewing the CCTV footage of the alleged assault, the bench was satisfied "that there
is no case to answer".

Speaking to the press outside court immediately after the ruling, Haye said he was "very happy" and "very pleased" with the result.

The 41-year-old appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Tuesday wearing a white shirt and a navy blazer, accused of grabbing Nickesh Jhala by the throat and threatening to kill him at the Hammersmith Apollo on October 30, 2021.

The case had been due to last two days, but was cut short after the bench cleared Haye at the halfway point through the trial.

The court had heard evidence from Mr Jhala, his cousin Vishal Vadher and his girlfriend Nina Nagar, as well as independent witness Rupal Karia.

CCTV footage from the venue was also played to the court, showing the confrontation and Haye could be seen stepping out of his seat and leaning over Mr Jhala.

Despite the footage and witnesses, the prosecution was unable to demonstrate that Haye had grabbed Mr Jhala by the throat, or that he had threatened to kill him.

James Scobie KC, defending, said that his client's case was that he never put his hands around Mr Jhala's throat, and he did not threaten to kill him.

"Our unequivocal case is 'hand on shoulder', at most, and no threats to kill, ever," he said.

Instead, he said his client had warned Mr Jhala to stop talking about him and his girlfriend or he would have him thrown out.

Earlier, Jonathan Bryan, prosecuting, told the court the alleged assault occurred during the interval at Paul Chowdhry's comedy gig at the venue.

Mr Jhala, his girlfriend and his cousin were sitting behind Haye and his girlfriend.

"It seems that Haye believed that some of the people sitting behind him were saying derogatory remarks about him and his partner," Mr Bryan said.

"We say Mr Haye put his hands around Mr Jhala's throat and threatened him, saying things to the effect that if Mr Jhala said anything more, he would kill him," Mr Bryan added.

He told the court Mr Jhala was not hurt by the incident but he was left "shaken" by it.