DAILY STAR
DCI Banks star Stephen Tompkinson has been found not guilty after denying an accusation of inflicting grievous bodily harm on a man who alleged he had punched him in 2021.
The actor was on trial this week, when he said it would be “career suicide” for him to “assault someone”, namely the accuser Karl Poole.
Newcastle Crown Court heard on Tuesday (May 9) that on the morning of the alleged assault, Tompkinson said he was asleep at home with his partner and her child when he “became aware” of “two men outside” – Poole and a man named Andrew Hall.
The actor said he came out of his house at around 5.30am, wearing pyjamas and a dressing gown, to challenge Mr Poole and his friend, who were both “quite heavily intoxicated”.
When asked by his barrister, Nicholas Lumley KC: “Did you punch Karl Poole?” Tompkinson replied: “No.”
Tompkinson said in court: “I didn’t want to hurt him; I wanted to stop him to change his mind about coming towards me and further onto my property.”
He claimed he went to make a “stop” gesture with his hand, which connected with Poole’s face, who then fell to the floor because of his “unsteadiness”.
The court was told Tompkinson had his phone after he called 999, and that the atmosphere reportedly…
