Keith Richards claims he was "targeted by the British government" when he was famously put on trial for drugs offences in 1967.
The Rolling Stones guitarist and frontman Mick Jagger were both jailed after police raided Richards' country mansion to search for drugs.
In a candid new memoir, serialised by The Times, Richards said the establishment was determined to punish the controversial band.
"We'd become the focal point of a nervous Establishment," writes Richards, 67.
"There's two ways the authorities can deal with a perceived challenge. One is to absorb and the other is to nail.
"They had to leave the Beatles alone because they had already given them medals.
"We got the nail. It was more serious than I thought.
"I was in jail because I'd obviously p***** off the authorities.
"I'm a guitar player in a pop band and I'm being targeted by the British government and its vicious police force, all of which shows me how frightened they are."
After he was found guilty Richards was jailed for a year. Jagger was given three months imprisonment. Both were freed the next day pending appeal.
