Guns N' Roses singer Axl Rose was "held for ransom" and mistreated by Swedish police when he was arrested on Tuesday in Stockholm, his manager has claimed.

Merck Mercuriadis said the star was threatened with up to three weeks in prison if he did not "co-operate", jeopardising the band's tour.

He said police were fully aware there were "millions of dollars at stake". Rose was released on Tuesday evening after admitting violent conduct and criminal damage and paying a fine.

The singer had been arrested after a fracas in the lobby of Stockholm's Berns Hotel, during which a hotel security guard accused Rose of biting him. He had performed before 15,000 people on Monday and was scheduled to play another concert in Oslo on Wednesday.

'Threatened'

"We are in the middle of a tour," Mr Mercuriadis said.

"The Swedish authorities were very aware of this, yet continually threatened us over a 12 hour period with between five days and three weeks incarceration without bail if Axl did not 'co-operate'.

"They were fully aware that there were millions of dollars at stake, not to mention the hopes of tens of thousands of fans who had paid for tickets to see Guns N' Roses."

"The point is, the police report should not be taken at face value, and if one were to be explicit, this experience is tantamount to being held for ransom.

"If the context were any different, Axl would probably have preferred to spend the time in jail in order to ensure that all the facts were a matter of public record."

The manager said Rose had been accosted by the security guard and was "physically mistreated" during his arrest.

Rose agreed to pay a 40,000 krona (£3,000) fine and 10,000 krona (£750) damages to the security guard.

Guns N' Roses will perform at the Roskilde Festival in Denmark this weekend.

Taken from BBC Entertainment NEWS