‘He hit me at least 20 times when I was on the floor’: Geoffrey Boycott assault victim condemns his knighthood
‘I will never forget that night. What sort of man does that and is then made a knight?’
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Your support makes all the difference.The ex-partner of cricketing legend Sir Geoffrey Boycott has called the decision to grant him a knighthood “disgusting” because of his conviction for assaulting her 21 years ago.
Margaret Moore, 67, said: “He treated me appallingly. Who hits a woman?”
The retired computer consultant from Hull told the The Sun newspaper: “He hit me over and over at least 20 times when I was on the floor ... I will never forget that night. It was horrible. What sort of man does that and is then made a knight?”
Sir Geoffrey – a former Yorkshire and England captain turned TV and radio commentator, who has always proclaimed his innocence of the assault – was bestowed with the title this week as part of ex-prime minister Theresa May’s resignation honours list.
But the decision prompted a huge backlash from domestic abuse campaigners who claim it normalises violence against women.
The 78-year-old was fined around £5,000 and given a three-month suspended sentence in 1998 after being convicted of beating Ms Moore in a French Riviera hotel.
She was pictured with black eyes and a bruised forehead following the incident.
But Sir Geoffrey has always denied he attacked her and maintained a refusal to apologise on the grounds he says he is innocent. He says she slipped and then tried to blackmail him.
On Tuesday, after news of his knighthood was revealed, he told the BBC he “couldn’t give a toss” about his critics.
Women’s Aid’s co-acting chief executive Adina Claire has also weighed into the argument, accusing Ms May of sending a “dangerous message” with the knighthood. She said the honour “should be taken away”.
Ms May has previously said the cricketer – who played in more than 100 test matches and scored some 8,000 runs – is one of her sporting heroes and compared her determination to deliver Brexit with the fighting spirit shown by the opening batsman during his career.
She said in November 2018: “Geoffrey Boycott stuck to it and he got the runs in the end.”
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