Christian Bale denies family's assault allegation

22/07/2008 20:49

By Mike Collett-White

LONDON (Reuters) - Actor Christian Bale, star of Batman blockbuster "The Dark Knight", on Tuesday denied allegations of assault made by his mother and sister after he was questioned by London police.

The 34-year-old spent several hours at a London police station before being released without charge, his U.S.-based spokeswoman Jennifer Allen said.

"Christian Bale attended a London police station today, on a voluntary basis, in order to assist with an allegation that had been made against him to the police by his mother and sister," Allen said in a statement.

"Mr. Bale, who denies the allegation, co-operated throughout, gave his account in full of the events in question, and has left the station without any charge being made against him by the police."

She confirmed separately that the allegation was of assault.

When asked if Bale had been arrested and released on bail, a police spokeswoman said: "A 34-year-old man has been bailed to return to a police station on a date in September."

The wording is the usual tangential way police confirm news about well-known personalities.

A spokeswoman for the studio behind the film, Warner Bros. Pictures, which is part of Time Warner Inc., declined to comment on the situation.

The arrest follows allegations of assault made by Bale’s mother .....continued below

Advertisement starts

---

---

Advertisement ends

and sister in relation to an incident at his London hotel suite late on Sunday, according to British media reports.

GLITZY PREMIERE

Welsh-born Bale was in London for the European premiere of "The Dark Knight", which also stars the late Heath Ledger as the Joker.

Ledger died of a drugs overdose shortly after completing the picture, which scored a record box office tally on its opening weekend in the United States.

Its total of around $155 million (77.5 million pounds) worth of tickets during its first three days across the United States and Canada eclipsed the previous record of just over $151 million for "Spider-Man 3" set in 2007.

Bale was on the red carpet with co-stars Michael Caine and Maggie Gyllenhaal in central London’s Leicester Square on Monday night.

A martial arts enthusiast and environmental campaigner, Bale has also appeared in "Batman Begins", "American Psycho" and "Empire Of The Sun".

(Additional reporting by Jeremy Lovell and Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Editing by Catherine Evans)

© 2008 Reuters Click for restrictions