GEORGE MICHAEL Arrested for Drug Possession, Heads Out of the UK

     MUSIC NEWS - Pop singer George Michael, 45, received a caution in London after being arrested in a public toilet for possession of drugs, which was suspected to include crack cocaine.  The multi-millionaire pop star, who last month played what he said were his last UK gigs, was arrested on Friday after he was seen loitering in subway toilets in Hampstead Heath, near his home.  "A 45-year-old man was arrested on 19 September on suspicion of possession of drugs in the Hampstead Heath area," a Metropolitan Police spokesman said.  The singer was taken to a police station and given the caution for possessing class A and class C drugs. Home Office Minister Tony McNulty said drug laws needed to be "flexible".  Asked why Mr Michael was given a mild punishment for the possession of class A drugs, Mr McNulty said he did not know the full details of the case.  The Home Office website says possession of class A drugs can result in up to seven years in prison, an unlimited fine or both.  Mr McNulty told the BBC: "The biggest message is that drugs are wrong and people will be punished, but it must be right that there is flexibility in the law."  But the government has the balance "about right" between being tough when it needs to be and providing treatment for individuals "to get off that horrible spiral of drug dependency and crime", he added.

UPDATE- 9/22/08 - To escape the intense media attention after his drug arrest, Mr Michael is reported to have hopped aboard a Harrods-owned (UK retailer) jet at a private airstrip with his partner, Kenny Goss and left the UK. Their destination had yet to be disclosed.