Former agent jailed for theft from royal composer

A man has been jailed of 18 months for embezzling more than 500,000 pounds ($800,000) from the official composer to Queen Elizabeth II.

Michael Arnold was the agent and manager of musician Peter Maxwell Davies for more than 30 years.

Prosecutors say he stole from Maxwell Davies for 16 years. The fraud was discovered when the composer was unable to withdraw 40 pounds from a bank machine because of insufficient funds.

Arnold pleaded guilty at Kingston Crown Court to false accounting involving 522,333 pounds ($853,000). Judge Nicholas Jones said Monday that he had taken the 76-year-old defendant's age and ill-health into account, but that the serious crime deserved a jail sentence.

Maxwell Davies is considered among the world's most eminent composers.