Gordon in the morning: Gordon drops Cowell in it

One Direction, you'll recall, won some prizes at the VMA awards. What happened next, Gordon Smart?

EVERYONE has an uncle who sorts out a crafty underage bottle of beer at family occasions.

ONE Direction’s late-night sneaky uncle Simon Cowell did the business for them at the MTV Video Music Awards as they picked up THREE Moonman statuettes.

They were each given a bottle of champagne by their label boss at the LA event — despite being under the state’s minimum drinking age of 21.

Ha ha! What a wag, eh?

Although, of course, that does mean that Cowell has committed a crime. Handy of Gordon to point it out in a newspaper, eh?

So, how serious is the trouble that Cowell is in? He's violated California Business and Professions Code Section 25658

Except as otherwise provided in subdivision (c), every person who sells, furnishes, gives, or causes to be sold, furnished, or given away any alcoholic beverage to any person under 21 years of age is guilty of a misdemeanor.

He furnished. He gave. Five times.

Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (2) or (3), or Section 25667, any person who violates this section shall be punished by a fine of two hundred fifty dollars ($250), no part of which shall be suspended, or the person shall be required to perform not less than 24 hours or more than 32 hours of community service during hours when the person is not employed and is not attending school, or a combination of a fine and community service as determined by the court. A second or subsequent violation of subdivision (b), where prosecution of the previous violation was not barred pursuant to Section 25667, shall be punished by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars ($500), or the person shall be required to perform not less than 36 hours or more than 48 hours of community service during hours when the person is not employed and is not attending school, or a combination of a fine and community service as determined by the court. It is the intent of the Legislature that the community service requirements prescribed in this section require service at an alcohol or drug treatment program or facility or at a county coroner's office, if available, in the area where the violation occurred or where the person resides.

Now, five bottles of champagne. I make that five offences in total. If justice is to be served, Simon Cowell should be sluicing down an awful lot of coroner's slabs in the near future, right?