London, June 23 : British fashion designer John Galliano has told a Paris court that he cannot recall making alleged anti-Semitic, racist slurs in a bar earlier this year because of his addictions to alcohol and drugs.

The former Dior designer could face up to six months in prison and a fine of as much as 21,000 pounds if the court finds him guilty.

When the judge asked Galliano about the incident on 24 February when a French couple at a Paris bar claimed he repeatedly insulted them with lines including `dirty Jewish face', `fucking ugly Jewish bitch' and `fucking Asian bastard', the designer said that he remembered nothing of the alleged charge.

The flamboyant couturier also told judges that he had been `pushed to the edge' by financial and emotional pressures.

"I have no recollection," the Guardian quoted him as saying.

Asked why he couldn''t remember, he said had a three-fold addiction to alcohol, sleeping tablets and valium.

He said there were many reasons for his addiction, including the success of Dior. He started drinking "in a cyclical way" in 2007.

"After every creative high I would crash and the drink would help me to escape. At this point I had managed to turn creativity into a billion dollar business at Dior. Then the financial crash happened," he said.

Galliano, who was immediately sacked from the top job as creative director of French fashion house Dior, could face charges of making "public insults" based on origin, religion, race or ethnicity. (ANI)