News 'It's fantastic to be free... now I'm going to start again': George Michael tells of his joy after completing four-week jail sentence

[George Michael]

Pop star George Michael said today that he wanted to 'start again' after being released from prison.

The 47-year-old singer said it was 'fantastic' to be free after serving half of his eight-week sentence for crashing his Range Rover while high on cannabis.

The former Wham! star, whose real name is Georgios Panayiotou, said he wanted to stop running away from the press now that he had been released from Highpoint Prison in Suffolk.

Speaking outside his home in north London, he told reporters: 'I'm coming out here on my own so that you'll realise I just want to start again.

'I'm going to try to stop running away from you guys. You'll get sick of me. You'll see me about.'

He said it was 'fantastic' to be free, that he wanted to 'go out', and added: 'It's a beautiful day.

'I just want to say thank you for everybody who has supported me in there, it's quite inspirational.'

As he walked back through the gates of his home, Michael joked: 'By the way, I've just thought of a really good idea for a song.'

He added: 'It's going to be nothing to do with prison.'

Michael was moved to the softer Category C Highpoint, where Moors Murderer Myra Hindley served the last three years of her life sentence, from Pentonville in north London last month.

He was jailed on September 14 after he admitted driving while unfit through drugs and possessing two cannabis cigarettes when he appeared at London's Highbury Corner Magistrates' Court.

Michael will serve the remaining four weeks on licence, in addition to paying £1,365 in fines and costs and will be banned from driving for five years.

He was sneaked out of the prison after being given special permission to leave before the regular 10am release.

The former Wham! star was picked up in the early hours by his partner Kenny Goss at Highpoint prison in Stradishall, Suffolk.

He was allowed to leave by a rear exit normally used by service vehicles making deliveries to the Category C prison.

The 47-year-old singer was held in the good behaviour unit which houses the most trusted inmates in the jail, leading to claims he was getting preferential treatment.

Two other inmates were released from the front gates of the prison at the official release time.

One said: 'We were told by the prison officers that George was being let out really early because he was a celebrity.

'I asked if I could get out a few hours early as well and they joked that I could if I was worth £200million like George.

'He wanted to avoid being photographed so they gave him special treatment and made sure he was let out without anyone noticing.

'A lot of prisoners were upset about him being put in the most cushy wing of the jail straight away. Other guys sometimes wait years to get a place on it.' 

Michael spent three nights in London's tough Pentonville prison moving to Highpoint which is nicknamed Hi-de-Highpoint after the TV holiday camp comedy camp due to its easy-going regime.

He was immediately given his own cell in the good behaviour unit where trusted and non-violent inmates get extra privileges.

Other inmates have to join a waiting list and behave well for several months or even years before they are allocated a place on the wing.

Normally new prisoners have to go into a reception wing - which often involves sharing a cell - for several weeks before being allocated a place on a standard wing.  

Michael was able to enjoy playing pool with other inmates and even had his own key to his cell enabling him to lock himself away if he wanted privacy. His cell also had its own TV.

He was cheered up by weekly two-hour visits from partner Kenny, 52, in the visiting area of the jail - most recently last Saturday.

The pair were given their own table in the back of the room with prison officers ensuring there were plenty of empty tables between them and other visitors.

He was jailed on September 14 after he admitted driving while unfit through drugs and possessing two cannabis cigarettes when he appeared at London’s Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court.

The 47-year-old, real name Georgios Panayiotou, was transferred to Highpoint from Pentonville after scrapping plans to appeal against his two-month sentence.

A close friend of the singer told the Daily Mail at the time: ‘He has accepted the sentence the judge has given him and will serve all of it. That's his decision. There will be no appeal from George. He is very insistent about that.’

The former Wham! star's partner Kenny Goss was pictured visiting the singer on Saturday.

Michael released a statement last week dismissing the 'rubbish' reports that he was receiving special treatment after being bullied behind bars.

The singer said: 'Much as I would prefer to rise above the usual rubbish that I'm reading day after day about my time here in prison, I think it's only fair to my fans, family and friends to respond in some way even though I will be home soon.

'So please believe me when I tell you that in the last three weeks, there have been no tears, no anxiety, no bullying - in fact, not so much as a sleepless night for me.'

He added: 'On the contrary, I've been treated with kindness by fellow inmates and prison staff alike and, as far as I can tell, have received no special treatment of any kind whatsoever, unless, of course, some of the guys here are letting me win at the pool table.

'Most of my days have been spent reading thousands of letters and post cards of incredible support from people around the world. I promise to repay their kindness with new music as soon as I possibly can.'

The singer will serve his remaining sentence in the community, reporting to a supervising officer. It appears he has made efforts since the accident to clean his life up.

In August, the Daily Mail told how Michael had begun a 14-day detox programme the day after the crash.

For the first time, he blamed his increasingly bizarre behaviour in recent years on ‘personal problems’ which, according to a number of friends, stem from the deaths of his boyfriend Anselmo Feleppa in 1993 and his beloved mother Lesley in 1997.