Robert Downey Jr pardoned for drugs and weapons offences from the 1990s

Hollywood star Robert Downey Jr has been handed an official pardon for drugs and weapons offences dating back to the 1990s.

A copy of the pardon on the website of the Governor of California, Jerry Brown, said the pardon had been granted following a request for clemency.

It said the Avengers and Iron Man actor, who is now 50, had obtained a court order "evidencing that since his release from custody he has lived an honest and upright life, exhibited good moral character and conducted himself as a law-abiding citizen."

He had been arrested for arrested in 1996 for racing his car along Sunset Boulevard while drunk. Police also found a stash of drugs in his possession, as well as an unloaded .357 magnum revolver.