Judge deals blow to Doherty

British rock star Pete Doherty was back behind bars on Friday after being given a six-month jail sentence for pleading guilty to possession of cocaine.

Judge David Radford told the 32-year-old former singer of The Libertines that he had an “appalling record” of committing offences.

But Doherty showed no emotion as he was sentenced at Snaresbrook Crown Court in London.

Doherty was arrested in January last year by police investigating the death of heiress Robyn Whitehead, who was making a documentary about Doherty when she died of a suspected overdose.

Doherty, a previous boyfriend of British supermodel Kate Moss, has twice been jailed before and has repeatedly admitted possessing drugs.

He had been due to give a sold-out concert in Glasgow on Friday, but a spokesman for the Barrowland venue said the gig was now postponed.

Prosecutors said last week that Doherty would not face criminal charges over the death of a partygoer who fell from a balcony shortly after the pair had a row at London party in December 2006.—AFP