A son of the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Andrews, has had a case against him for obscenity dropped at the Edinburgh Sheriff Court.
Mr David Andrews (32), a comedian who performs as David McSavage, was cheered by fellow Fringe Festival performers and carried shoulder high after he emerged from the court.
He was arrested during a street performance at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe on Sunday for using the word "penis" in his show on the Royal Mile. Mr Andrews was handcuffed by police officers after he had ignored warnings about his language.
After emerging from court yesterday, he said: "I'm just glad it's over so I can concentrate on my fringe show. I would never normally use the word penis in my show and I don't plan to do it again. A lot of other comedians were resentful that I got so much publicity after being arrested. I didn't come to Edinburgh to get arrested, I came here to perform. I was not guilty of a breach of the peace."
At Mr Andrews's trial, no record of his offence could be found. He came to the court with a charge sheet from an Edinburgh police station saying he was to appear at 9.45 a.m. on August 13th. But officers could find no record of the case. He was then let off with a warning by Edinburgh assistant procurator fiscal Mr M.J. Bell. He had planned to plead not guilty.
Ms Hanna Andrews, his wife, said: "I think that the police were having a bad day and did not like to see people enjoying themselves. It's been blown out of all proportion. David should never have been arrested for saying that word. People should have the right to say what they like and penis is just a body part."
Mr Andrews was arrested on the first day of the Fringe and was led away in front of a large audience, which included children. He spent four hours in jail. He was released in time for the evening performance of his show. He was also threatened with arrest at last year's festival for foul language. This year the police were alerted after he told the crowd he was going to pull his pants down and set fire to his penis. "There was a scantily clad dance troupe to the right of me and so I had to do something to keep the audience," he explained.
Last April, after appearing as a warm-up act on a top Danish talk show for Boyzone, he complained that the bouncers attacked him. He was left in a neck collar after the incident and later sacked from the warm-up spot.
Prof Alan Miller of the Scottish Human Rights Centre predicted that the European Convention of Human Rights would prevent cases such as this in the future.