High flying banking director at NatWest swaps luxury lifestyle for prison cell after drink driving
A high-flying bank executive, whose alcohol problem destroyed his jet set lifestyle, has finally hit rock bottom in a prison cell.
Alastair Allen, a managing director at NatWest just nine years ago, was jailed for seven months by a judge in Preston after admitting drink driving.
The city’s Crown Court heard that until he was made redundant in 2016 the 57-year-old had been living a lavish life on a “comfortable” six-figure salary and with a passion for collecting cars.
But when he was stopped by police in Blackpool at the wheel of an old Ford Mondeo in December last year he was almost three times over the legal limit.
For Allen, who was now said to be living in a mobile home on the Ocean Edge Caravan Park at Heysham, it was the second time in three years he had been caught drink driving.
Judge Graham Knowles KC was told his life had spiralled out of control since leaving his top job at the bank. He had been divorced twice and had ended up on benefits.
He had turned to alcohol after losing his best friend and his dog around the same time.
“He resorted to drink to numb the pain,” said his defence barrister Lewis Hazeldine.
“It has been quite a fall from grace. He was managing director at NatWest Bank. It allowed him to travel and fund a lavish lifestyle in the 1980s on a comfortable six-figure salary.
“In 2016 he was made redundant and (since then) life seems to have spiralled somewhat.”
Mr Hazeldine said Allen had been a currency trader for years working in places like Hong Kong. In 2007 he was promoted to a managing director role until his redundancy in 2016.
“Unfortunately his life spiralled out of control. He went from earning a comfortable six-figure salary to living on nothing and not being able to meet his own needs.
“He now has a number of medical issues which have stemmed from alcohol abuse over the last 10 years.”
Richard Flook, prosecuting, told the court staff at a Co-op store in Blackpool alerted police after Allen, who “appeared to be intoxicated”, bought a bottle of wine, left the shop, got into a Ford Mondeo and drove off.
Officers searched the area and eventually came across him driving slowly and weaving slightly from side to side.
In a roadside breath test he blew 105 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath – the legal limit is 35. Later at the police station he blew 96.
Mr Flook said Allen had a previous drink-driving conviction from 2022. He was also in breach of an eight-month suspended sentence for stealing a friend’s bank card and spending thousands with it on booze.
Mr Hazeldine said his client wanted to get off alcohol and had tried many times. “It is clear he needs rehabilitation and needs to get away from alcohol to enjoy the rest of his life.
“He needs support for his addiction. Unfortunately addiction is not easily broken and alcohol clearly remains an issue for him.”
He added Allen was “extremely remorseful” for drink driving and no longer had any vehicles.
“He has always had a lot of cars, it is a hobby for him,” he said. “But it is a risk he can no longer take and he has got rid of all of them.”
Judge Knowles told Allen: “Your life has gone into a terrible decline over the past decade or so.”
He said Allen was into alcohol in “a very serious degree”. And he told the court that the suspended sentence had been issued in July 2023 after he stole the bank card of the close friend who had died and spent thousands on wine with it. “You drank it all,” he told him.
“When the judge (in that case) gave you a suspended sentence for such an unpleasant offence he took into account the hardship you had suffered and he took into account the alcohol.
“I have to consider whether it is unjust to activate that sentence for (this) drink driving. With a previous conviction it seems to me that this is an offence on its own which could attract a prison sentence.
“I cannot say that it is in any way unjust to activate the sentence. I am afraid you do go to prison.
“Whether it does you any good only time will tell. But the court has to be seen to mean what it says.”
He sentenced Allen to a total of 28 weeks in prison and banned him from driving for almost four years. He will have to pass an extended driving test before he is ever allowed behind the wheel again.