Radio presenter suspended after drink-driving offence

RTÉ radio star Baz Ashmawy has been suspended by 2fm for a month after he admitted to being arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol.

The 35-year-old last night issued a statement in which he “unreservedly” acknowledged “that driving with excess alcohol was unacceptable on my behalf”.

The co-presenter of the 2fm weekend breakfast show was arrested on suspicion of driving with excess alcohol in the early hours of last Friday morning, February 25, at Lower Rathmines Road, Dublin.

The arrest took place following a collision involving Ashmawy’s car and a parked vehicle as the broadcaster attempted to park his car.

In his statement, Ashmawy said: “I want to offer my sincere apologies to the third party and An Garda Síochána involved in this matter for the inconvenience caused.

“I also wish to apologise to my partner, our family, RTÉ, all my colleagues and, indeed, my listeners.

“As a father and a public broadcaster it is up to me to show a greater example,” the radio presenter concluded.

Following the statement the public broadcaster announced that Ashmawy would be suspended without pay for one month.

RTÉ’s statement said that the station took “the issue of drink-driving very seriously and has a long history of highlighting and raising awareness of campaigns against this behaviour”.

The statement continued that, following Ashmawy’s arrest at the weekend and “given the age profile of the RTÉ 2fm audience and the number of people who listen to shows such as Baz’s, this is something that RTÉ cannot ignore”.

The statement added: “We (RTÉ) believe this suspension is warranted to highlight the unacceptable nature of drink driving and the high-profile nature of Mr Ashmawy’s position on 2fm.”

According to previous newspaper reports, Ashmawy had stated on the social networking site Twitter that he was drinking in a bar in Rathmines prior to his arrest.