Beckhams launch fightback against tide of allegations
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David and Victoria Beckham have called in the lawyers in an attempt to stem the tide of salacious media stories about the footballer's private life.
But their hopes of taking the momentum out of the revelations suffered a setback almost immediately when it emerged that Rebecca Loos, one of the women alleged to have had an affair with him, would be appearing in a television interview.
In a second weekend of revelations, the England captain was accused of a new infidelity, raising the prospect of a further damaging week of headlines on the state of the high-profile couple's marriage.
A statement issued yesterday by 19 Management, the agency representing both Beckham and his 29-year-old wife said: "This weekend, a series of even more absurd and unsubstantiated claims have been published about David and Victoria Beckham. The couple continue to dismiss these stories and they will not be commenting upon them further at this time. Lawyers have been instructed by David and Victoria concerning these matters."
Libel experts, however, were quick to dismiss the attempt to try to scare off the media by hinting at legal action as "unconvincing". While the couple have some of the best legal advisers in the industry, yesterday's statement fell far short of initiating libel proceedings. Instead of refuting the substantive allegations, the statement talked more about what the Beckhams thought about the stories that have dominated the headlines.
David Price, an expert in defamation law, said yesterday: "When you are hit with an Exocet, you don't normally retaliate with a toy gun. David Beckham has taken a week to reply to these allegations but still hasn't said he intends to bring libel proceedings."
The first claim emerged the weekend before last when it was reported Ms Loos, 26, a PA with the footballer's former representatives SFX Management, had a three-month affair with Beckham in Spain shortly after he joined Real Madrid. She was being represented by the publicist Max Clifford.
The Beckhams' advisers fought back, dismissing the claims as "ludicrous". But these claims will be aired once again in the interview on Sky One when Ms Loos will talk "candidly and openly, revealing extraordinary details", according to a spokesman for the broadcaster. The interview, to be shown on Thursday, may have cost Sky One as much as £500,000.
The latest allegations centre on claims from Sarah Marbeck, 29, who told the News of the World this weekend about her two-year affair with Beckham.
Ms Marbeck, a Malaysian-born model who now lives in Australia, claims she had sex with Beckham just hours after meeting him at a party attended by the Manchester United squad in Singapore in July 2001. Following the alleged tryst, it is claimed the pair sent each other a series of explicit text messages, in which they referred to each other as "Peter Pan" and "Tinkerbell". Beckham's wife was supposedly nicknamed "Wendy". According to Ms Marbeck, they again enjoyed "the highest, most intense moment of passion" after an England international against Italy on 27 March 2002, while Beckham's wife was pregnant with their second son, Romeo.
A spokeswoman for the News of the World said: "Once again, we stand by our reports 100 per cent our revelations speak for themselves," she said.
The Beckhams spent yesterday sheltering from the media storm in their Hertfordshire home after flying into Stansted airport in their private Lear jet. It is understood that they were enjoying an early celebration of Victoria's 30th birthday.