Dizzee Rascal is found guilty of assaulting his ex-fiancée

Rapper Dizzee Rascal has been found guilty of assaulting the mother of his children after he took his daughter out for the day.

The 37-year-old award-winning grime star, real name Dylan Mills, had denied pressing his forehead against hers and pushing her to the ground during a ‘chaotic’ row at a residential property in Streatham, south London, on June 8 last year.

Following the verdict at Wimbledon Magistrates’ Court, Mills took a camera from a PA Media photographer after the leaving the building and threw it into a road, causing it to smash. 

Mills, who was behind chart-topping singles Bonkers and Dance Wiv Me, had two children with Ms Jones before they split in February 2021.

He was said to be ‘frustrated’ over custody arrangements and the pair had an argument when he dropped off their daughter at the property.

After Mills was arrested following the incident in June, he told police ‘she assaulted me’ and that she had left him with a scratch on his left arm.

But Mills, who had denied the charge, was today found guilty after a trial and will be sentenced at Croydon Magistrates’ Court on April 8.

The court heard that Mills and Ms Jones, who had been together for nine years before their split, argued when Mills dropped off their daughter on the day of the alleged assault.

He had been late arriving at Ms Jones’ house after getting stuck in traffic and told the court Ms Jones was bombarding him with calls and texts while he was driving, asking whether they would be back by 5pm in time for a chicken dinner.

He sent her texts which said ‘shut up, don’t give me no lip’ and ‘shut your f****** mouth’ before the row, but denied he was annoyed at the time, the court heard.

The prosecution alleged that Mills ‘barged’ his way into the property, banged his head on a fridge three times while holding his son and began ‘screaming and shouting’ at Ms Jones and her mother Dawn Kirk.

The court heard how Ms Jones began filming him but he took her phone from her and then took Ms Kirk’s phone.

The court was told the shouting became so loud that it alerted two neighbours and police were called.

A judge was told how when officers arrived, Mills said ‘I’m the aggressor’, but later gave a prepared statement in a police interview, denying the allegations and claimed he had been assaulted by Ms Jones.

Delivering her verdict, District Judge Polly Gledhill said: ‘I am sure that on 8 June on returning home with the child late he lost his temper and there was an argument about child contact and finances.

‘He took her phone to prevent the police being called and assaulted her.

‘I’m satisfied this actually occurred and I’m satisfied this constituted an unlawful assault.’   

Mills and Ms Jones were said to have had an ‘on and off’ relationship after first meeting around 2011, and in 2018 they got engaged.

In her testimony in February, Ms Jones described her ex-fiancé as ‘a ticking time bomb’, explaining that she was calm when he arrived on the doorstep with their daughter as she knew he was in a bad mood and did not want to anger him.

She gave evidence from behind a screen at Wimbledon Magistrates’ Court in the previous appearance, sobbing throughout her testimony.

PC Stephanie Johnstone said she arrested the rapper for common assault after he told her: ‘I’m the aggressor.’ But he later denied the assault in interviews.

The court was shown the officer’s bodyworn footage of Ms Jones sitting on the floor tearfully recounting the alleged attack.

Earlier today, Mills told the court Ms Jones and her mother were ‘waving their phones around’ when he arrived back at the property. 

He said: ‘I didn’t want them used as a weapon.

‘When the police arrived I said “I am the aggressor” but I was making light of it and trying to diffuse the situation.

‘I was not the aggressor, I did not do anything to her physically.

‘I ended up with two small marks because she was waving her phone around.

‘Those marks came from her. She was erratic. She assaulted me by pushing me and scratching my left arm.

‘I did not assault her that day.’

He continued: ‘I was angry, I was angry at times yes. I was annoyed at her, she was shouting in my face and she was angry.

‘At the police station I waited so long, the scratches I had when I arrived had become bruises.’

Earlier today, a statement from champion boxer David Haye, who has known the artist for more than 10 years, was read as evidence of Mills’ good character.

The former world heavyweight champion said: ‘I would describe Dylan as a stand-up and down-to-earth kind of man.

‘Dylan is a very easy individual to get along with.

‘He remained humble, having built himself up from nothing. He would rarely be seen out at celebrity social functions for the simple reason that he prefers to stay at home and spend time with his family.’

Mr Haye described Mills as a ‘role-model father’.

He added: ‘It is Dylan’s relationship with his children that I admire the most – despite his fame he always made time for his children.

‘I have never seen Dylan lose his temper nor display any signs of anger.

‘He was always calm and collected, he would not let anything fluster him.’ 

The court also heard from Mills’ ex-girlfriend, Tanya Chehrehnegary, who said she was ‘shocked’ when she heard about the allegations.

‘There have been many situations where your average person would get quite defensive but he’s always dealt with things in a very calm and collected manner,’ she said.

‘Whenever we argued he would always remove himself from the situation and always end it on a funny note where I would end up laughing about something and that would be the end of it.’ 

Prosecutor Helena Duong said Mills was ‘unprepared to answer any of the questions.

‘Even though it’s quite apparent in my submission that he plainly was upset about the situation with his kids.

‘He didn’t want to have to accept that he lost his temper that day.

‘He was the aggressor in the situation and the one who was responsible for assaulting Ms Jones that day and certainly not the other way around.’

Sallie Bennett-Jenkins, QC, defending the rapper, said: ‘This defendant did not have to give evidence but he did so gladly.

‘But he did so in a way that gave a consistent and wholly credible account of what happened that day.

‘He is a man who is calm, courteous as a partner, attentive, patient and generous.

‘It is the defendant’s evidence and he accepts that he was shouting that day.

‘That, with respect, is not what he was charged with.’

Mills had a string of hit songs in the late 2000s and amassed a reported net worth of £2.5 million.

He was awarded an MBE for services to music in 2020.

Mills, of Sevenoaks in Kent, who was charged on August 2, denied assault by beating. 

He will be sentenced in April.