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Redknapp attorney blasts tabloid evidence

Comment: 0 February 7th, 2012 by: admin

Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp’s defence attorney John Kelsey-Fry attacked prosecutors for using tabloid news articles as evidence to accuse his client of evading taxes.

Redknapp, heavily favoured to be England’s new manager, is currently being investigated for evading taxes up to £189,000. The Spurs boss, who was the Portsmouth manager at the time, was said to have placed the money in an off-shore account in Monaco under the name of his dog.

Kelsey-Fry said that the prosecution used “despicable evidences” to try and corner his client. He accused them of using reports from Rob Beasley, from the now defunct News of the World tabloid as credible information on Redknapp’s alleged tax anomalies.

“I do not shrink from suggesting to you it is repugnant to all our basic instincts of fairness in the criminal justice process,” shared Kelsey-Fry.

“They saw a great story, all’s fair in love and war at the News of the World,” referring to the news gathered from Beasley.

Redknapp and former Portsmouth chairman Milan Mandaric are both accused of evading taxes and their case is being heard at Southwark Crown Court in London.

They both deny all accusations and claim that the payments made from the said bank account were made from transactions outside the game.

The English manager was with Portsmouth from 2002-2004 and then 2005-2008 before joining Tottenham. Mandaric is currently the chairman for League One’s Sheffield Wednesday.

Judge Anthony Leonard is set to finish up with the case on Tuesday before handing it over to the deciding to the jury for a final verdict.

News of the World was shut down by media tycoon Rupert Murdoch after a scandal which involved phone hacking that was connected to a murder of a schoolgirl.

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