Dizzee Rascal spared jail for attacking ex-fiancée

Rapper Dizzee Rascal has been sentenced for attacking his ex-fiancée during a row over child contact and finances. The grime artist, whose real name is Dylan Mills, was given a restraining order, a curfew and will have to wear an electronic tag.

The 37-year-old had been found guilty of assaulting his ex-partner Cassandra Jones last summer. He pressed his forehead against hers and pushed her to the ground during a “chaotic” row at a residential property in Streatham, south London, on June 8 2021.

The artist behind chart-topping singles Bonkers and Dance Wiv Me was “frustrated” over custody arrangements, the court heard. The pair had an argument when he dropped off their daughter at the property.

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District judge Polly Gledhill, sentencing him at London Croydon Magistrates’ Court on Friday (8 April), told Mills she wanted him to work on how he thinks and behaves as he “lost his temper and used violence”. After reading pre-sentence reports, she told Mills that he had shown “no remorse for this matter” and “you continue to place the blame on Ms Jones – the victim in this case”.

There was no response from Mills as he sat in the dock, dressed in green bomber jacket, white top and black jeans, as he was sentenced. He was given a community order with a 24-week curfew and told he must wear an electronic tag.

He was also given a 12-month restraining order after the judge said she was “satisfied” it was a “necessary and proportionate” measure. Mills, who had two children with Ms Jones before they split up in February 2021, was said to have “barged” into the home, 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.

Ms Jones began filming him but he took her phone from her and then took Ms Kirk’s phone. The shouting became so loud that it alerted two neighbours and police were called.

His trial was told that when officers arrived, Mills said “I’m the aggressor”, but he later gave a prepared statement in a police interview denying the allegations and claiming he had been assaulted by Ms Jones.