Supermodel Elle Macpherson denies romantic involvement with ‘drug smuggler’

Posted by mija on Oct 28, 2008 in News | 0 comments

Supermodel Elle Macpherson has denied any romantic involvement with a convicted drug smuggler, claiming they are just good friends.
The 44-year-old has been photographed out with Brian Burgess, who was found guilty of drug trafficking in Australia in 1996.
He was sentenced to four years for attempting to smuggle 2kg of cocaine from the US in hollowed-out boots.
He was deported to England, where he was born, after serving out his jail term.
He left a wife and three children in Australia.
Burgess, 56, now owns a removals company called Aussie Man&Van and reportedly met Macpherson when he helped her move from Notting Hill to Ladbroke Grove in west London.
The pair were photographed driving around London in the Australian supermodel’s Aston Martin convertible.
She has issued a statement in which she “emphatically denies that there is any romantic association” between them, but praises Burgess for turning his life around since leaving prison.
“Miss Macpherson is aware of Mr Burgess’s past conduct and also that Mr Burgess has, and continues to take, significant steps towards restoring his life,” the statement said.
The News of the World reported Macpherson collected Burgess from a Chelsea car showroom where he had been looking at Jaguar cars.
“The salesman was an Aussie and they were getting on great,” the newspaper quoted an onlooker as saying.
“Brian was saying how he had been seeing a new girlfriend for a few weeks. He added: ‘I’ve got to go, she’s picking me up’.
“Then Elle turns up in her car. I couldn’t believe it.”
Aussie Man & Van manager John Hess said Burgess’s drugs conviction was “all in the past”.
“This guy spends most of his time counselling people with drug and alcohol addiction,” he said.
Before his conviction, Burgess worked as an airline sales manager and later owned a travel agency
But, according to the Australian press, he became depressed after he lost his job.
He then started drinking and using cocaine and started suffering from bullimia.
Mr Burgess told the court that in the seven months before his arrest, he had become a regular cocaine user after trying the drug at a weak moment.
His wife Jennifer said at the time of his deportation he had been a good father.
“He was always a good dad, unfortunately he lost the plot for a time,” she said.
The 44-year-old has been photographed out with Brian Burgess, who was found guilty of drug trafficking in Australia in 1996.
He was sentenced to four years for attempting to smuggle 2kg of cocaine from the US in hollowed-out boots.
He was deported to England, where he was born, after serving out his jail term.
He left a wife and three children in Australia.
Burgess, 56, now owns a removals company called Aussie Man&Van and reportedly met Macpherson when he helped her move from Notting Hill to Ladbroke Grove in west London.
The pair were photographed driving around London in the Australian supermodel’s Aston Martin convertible.
She has issued a statement in which she “emphatically denies that there is any romantic association” between them, but praises Burgess for turning his life around since leaving prison.
“Miss Macpherson is aware of Mr Burgess’s past conduct and also that Mr Burgess has, and continues to take, significant steps towards restoring his life,” the statement said.
The News of the World reported Macpherson collected Burgess from a Chelsea car showroom where he had been looking at Jaguar cars.
“The salesman was an Aussie and they were getting on great,” the newspaper quoted an onlooker as saying.
“Brian was saying how he had been seeing a new girlfriend for a few weeks. He added: ‘I’ve got to go, she’s picking me up’.
“Then Elle turns up in her car. I couldn’t believe it.”
Aussie Man & Van manager John Hess said Burgess’s drugs conviction was “all in the past”.
“This guy spends most of his time counselling people with drug and alcohol addiction,” he said.
Before his conviction, Burgess worked as an airline sales manager and later owned a travel agency
But, according to the Australian press, he became depressed after he lost his job.
He then started drinking and using cocaine and started suffering from bullimia.
Mr Burgess told the court that in the seven months before his arrest, he had become a regular cocaine user after trying the drug at a weak moment.
His wife Jennifer said at the time of his deportation he had been a good father.
“He was always a good dad, unfortunately he lost the plot for a time,” she said.
source: telegraph.co.uk