Babyshambles management 'milked Doherty'

Gemma Clarke has claimed that Babyshambles's management exploited frontman Pete Doherty during her time in the band.

The drummer, who left the group in 2005, told The Guardian that Doherty was "an absolute sweetheart", despite his portrayal in the media.

Clarke said: "I don't understand heroin addiction, but I understand that he has an illness. At the end I felt that the machinery around the band was milking him, destroying him.

"The management were thrashing him around the country, getting as much money out of him as possible, but he needed help. It just didn't feel right to me."

She added: "We had meetings, but nothing changed. The next time I saw the management, I took a security guard with me, but I didn't ponder quitting.

"It all happened one night, after a disgustingly violent mess broke out when we played the Astoria in London."

Clarke now drums with The Krak and has been replaced in Babyshambles by Adam Ficek.