A barrister declined a roadside breath test after being pulled over under suspicion of driving under the influence, claiming she had recently undergone lip enhancement surgery.
Rachel Tansey, 44, was pulled over after reports that her silver Range Rover was ‘weaving around’ a bypass at 20mph.
Despite this explanation, when requested to provide a breath sample, the barrister only lightly placed her lips on the testing device, attributing this to her recent cosmetic procedure from the day before, as revealed in court.
The mother-of-three – who lives in a £1.4 million mansion in Formby, Merseyside – told officers: ‘Do not tell me what I can and cannot do.
‘I am doing my very best. It is like asking someone to jump up after a tummy tuck. I cannot do it.’
Not only did she refuse a blood test as an alternative, citing an undisclosed fear of needles, she found herself facing charges for failing to cooperate by not supplying either breath or blood samples.
At Sefton Magistrates’ Court, she denied wrongdoing, insisting she had only been driving slowly as she had dropped a chicken wrap and been swilling mouthwash.
However, she is now facing a possible jail sentence after a judge accused her of trying to ‘manipulate the situation’ to her advantage and lacking ‘any kind of credibility whatsoever’.
Rachel Tansey (pictured) refused a roadside breath test because she had had cosmetic treatment the day before
Tansey was charged with failing to provide breath and blood samples after claiming she had a phobia of needles
The court heard Tansey was in the midst of an acrimonious divorce at the time and on a break from practising law to run restaurants and bars.Â
Among her business interests was the Liverpool branch of controversial restaurant chain Hooters, which has been accused of creating a ‘misogynistic environment’ because of its scantily-clad waitresses.Â
The incident occurred in the early hours of April 20, 2023, when Tansey was reported to a police patrol about her erratic driving near her home.
Officers spoke to her at home shortly afterwards but she ‘failed to give a sample of breath despite being given multiple opportunities to do so’, Elizabeth Browne, prosecuting, said.Â
After being taken to the custody suite, Tansey refused a sample of blood, the court heard, saying: ‘Good luck trying to get blood from me. Let’s roll the dice. I will not consent to blood.’
Her explanation that she had a ‘needle phobia’ was simply an attempt to ‘get out’ of providing a blood sample, Ms Browne said.
Giving evidence, PC Thomas Moore said Tansey’s car smelled of alcohol. ‘She said that she would be unable to provide a roadside breath test because she had cosmetic surgery on her lips the day before,’ he said.
‘She was putting her lips around the tube and forming a seal at one point to provide a partial sample but could not complete and provide a full sample.
Tansey was told by a judge she had attempted to manipulate the situation and delay officersÂ
‘She was very arrogant to be honest,’ he added. Footage from the police station later that night showed Tansey saying: ‘I have had my mouth operated on.’ She said she had just had a non-invasive treatment to remove hair from around her chin.
After being told that a nurse said she should be able to complete it, she replied: ‘She has not had the same procedure that I have. I am trying my best.’
But the officer replied: ‘You are not even trying. You are not blowing.’
Convicting her of both charges of failing to provide samples of breath and blood, District Judge James Hatton told her: ‘From the moment you got out of the car you attempted to manipulate this situation.
‘You have tried to delay and delay and delay the officers. You tell the officers that you had nothing to drink. Clearly you had at least something to drink. You are a witness who lacks any kind of credibility whatsoever.’
He bailed her for sentencing, saying a community order was ‘likely’, but he would leave ‘all options open, including custody’.
