A drink-drive lawyer refused a roadside breath test after being stopped in her Range Rover, citing recent lip cosmetic surgery.
A lawyer in the UK has made headlines after refusing to take a roadside breath test.
Rachel Tansey, a 44-year-old barrister, was pulled over while driving her silver Range Rover.
The police stopped her because they received reports of her car weaving and going slowly on the road.
When officers asked her to provide a breath sample, she cited a recent cosmetic procedure as the reason for her refusal.
Drink-drive lawyer refuses to take breath test over lip cosmetic surgery during police stop
The incident took place in April 2023. Officers noticed Tansey’s car moving erratically at just 20 miles per hour.
After stopping her, they asked for a breath test, but Tansey did not give a full sample.
She only partially sealed her lips around the testing tube.
Instead, she claimed she had undergone cosmetic surgery on her lips the day before, which made it difficult for her to blow into the device properly.
Tansey told the police, “Do not tell me what I can and cannot do. I cannot do it.”
She compared the situation to asking someone to jump after having a tummy tuck, suggesting that her surgery limited her ability to comply.
‘I am doing my very best. It is like asking someone to jump up after a tummy tuck. I cannot do it.’
The drink-drive lawyer also refuses to take a blood test.
In addition to refusing the breath test, Tansey also declined to provide a blood sample.
She explained that she had a phobia of needles, which she claimed was another reason for her refusal.
Prosecutors later argued that her explanation was just a tactic to avoid providing a sample, calling her credibility into question.
Despite being given multiple chances to provide a breath sample, Tansey did not comply.
This led to her being charged with failing to provide the necessary samples.
‘Good luck trying to get blood from me. Let’s roll the dice. I will not consent to blood,’ the lawyer said.
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.
The case went to Sefton Magistrates’ Court.
The case went to Sefton Magistrates’ Court, where Tansey denied any wrongdoing.
She maintained that she had only been driving slowly because she had dropped a chicken wrap in her car and was swishing mouthwash to freshen her breath.
However, the judge was not convinced by her explanations.
During the court proceedings, the judge criticized Tansey for trying to manipulate the situation.
He noted that her behavior lacked credibility and accused her of attempting to delay the officers.
The court also heard from a police officer who stated that Tansey’s car smelled of alcohol when they approached her.
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.”