Former Nobu head chef who has cooked for the Beckhams, Michael Jackson and Roman Abramovich is cleared of race attack on parking attendant after finding his BMW unwashed at Heathrow Airport

  • Scott Hallsworth, 41, was accused of hitting Hitenkumar Arya, 52, with his phone
  • He denied assault and said he didn't call the Ugandan-born worker Muhammad
  • The jury at Isleworth Crown Court were instructed to find him not guilty 

By EMILY CHAN FOR MAILONLINE

Published: | Updated:

The former head chef of Nobu has been cleared of a racially charged attack on a parking attendant after returning to find his BMW unwashed at Heathrow Airport.

Scott Hallsworth, 41, from Chelsea, was arrested by police last July for allegedly hitting Hitenkumar Arya, 52, with his mobile phone.

He denied assaulting him and said he didn't call the Ugandan-born worker 'Muhammad', claiming he called him 'F***head' instead and that he must have misheard due to his Australian accent.

Former Nobu head chef Scott Hallsworth, 41,  has been cleared of a racially charged attack on a parking attendant after returning to find his BMW unwashed at Heathrow Airport 

Former Nobu head chef Scott Hallsworth, 41,  has been cleared of a racially charged attack on a parking attendant after returning to find his BMW unwashed at Heathrow Airport 

However, Mr Hallsworth - who has personally cooked for David and Victoria Beckham, Michael Jackson and Roman Abramovich - accepted that he became annoyed at what he saw as Mr Arya's unhelpful 'jobsworth' attitude and that he called him 'stupid boy' to belittle him.

Recorder Paul Clements instructed the Isleworth Crown Court jury to find Mr Hallsworth not guilty of religiously aggravated assault on Monday.

The ruling came on the first day of the trial after the jury heard evidence from former Purple Parking valet Mr Arya.

He told the court: 'He was shouting and screaming quite loudly and that's when everything kicked off. 

'He was saying that his car had not been washed, he was just going crazy, louder and louder.'

Mr Hallsworth, who had paid extra for his car to be valeted, licked his finger and wiped the bodywork of the black vehicle to demonstrate the level of dirt in the Terminal Three car park, the court heard.

Mr Hallsworth, who worked as a chef at the Michelin-starred Nobu restaurant in Park Lane (pictured) for six years, was arrested by police last July for allegedly hitting Hitenkumar Arya, 52, with his mobile phone 

Mr Hallsworth, who worked as a chef at the Michelin-starred Nobu restaurant in Park Lane (pictured) for six years, was arrested by police last July for allegedly hitting Hitenkumar Arya, 52, with his mobile phone 

Mr Arya claimed that Mr Hallsworth called him 'Muhammad', the Muslim prophet, as he went to collect a complaint form.

He told the court: 'He said: 'Hey Muhammad, don't walk away from me. Were are you going?' He kept swearing, coming out with racial abuse, but I did not want to get into an argument like that.'

He said he asked Mr Hallsworth to stop shouting and claimed he replied: 'I'm not shouting at you, I'm yelling at you boy.'

He continued: 'He then started pushing the desk and getting very aggressive. He was swearing about my mother for some reason, who she slept with, stuff like that.

'He said "Go back to your own country" and was convinced I was Muslim. I'm Hindu.

'He was pushing the desk all over the place and pointing very rigorously and his hands were coming quite close around my face.

'His phone hit my face. I don't know if he was pointing or meant to punch me, but then he tried it again.

He denied assaulting him and said he didn't call the Ugandan-born worker 'Muhammad', claiming he called him 'F***head' instead

He denied assaulting him and said he didn't call the Ugandan-born worker 'Muhammad', claiming he called him 'F***head' instead

'I reached out to stop his hand, fearing he was going to do it again, throw a punch. His fist came and I stopped it.' 

The court heard that as a result the iPhone ended up in Mr Arya's hands, but Mr Hallsworth says this occurred when the attendant snatched it to stop being pictured.

'He had the phone in his hand as he lashed out at me. It was loose in the cover and that's how I got hold of the phone,' added Mr. Arya.

'He said "If you don't give me my phone back, I'll keep your phones," and picked up two or three company phones and threw them on the floor.'

Mr Hallsworth pushed the disability assist help button as Mr Arya dialled 999.

The jury were played the emergency call, which recorded the defendant shouting in the background.

He could be heard ranting about 'rip-off prices', 'covered in dust', 'stupid boy', and sarcastically asking Mr Arya: 'Are you stupid? Did you go to school?' 

Mr Hallsworth has personally cooked for David and Victoria Beckham, as well as Michael Jackson and Roman Abramovich 

Mr Hallsworth has personally cooked for David and Victoria Beckham, as well as Michael Jackson and Roman Abramovich 

The parking valet denied that he was out to 'utterly milk' the incident, replying: 'His actions were really bad. I had to look out for getting hit again.'

He explained that he had quit his job as a result, saying: 'The fun part of the job finished. Every time someone came in that was not happy I thought "Am I going to be attacked again?" He was like a furnace, going off on one.' 

Following the incident, Mr Arya told police: 'I feel personally invaded, both physically and racially.'

However, Mr Arya has now set-up his own private parking company, claiming he could not find employment anywhere else.  

Recorder Clements granted a defence application of no case to answer, agreeing there was conflicting evidence and no proof an assault had occurred. 

Mr Hallsworth worked as a chef at the Michelin-starred Nobu restaurant in Park Lane for six years. He went on to set up the high-end Kurobuta restaurant. 

London

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