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LONDON - A man accused by the News of the World of involvement in an plot to kidnap Victoria Beckham has been given a public apology in the Court of Appeal following the emergence of new evidence which cleared his name.
Two years ago, Romanian Alin Turcu, whose real name is Bogdan Maris, lost his High Court claim that he was libelled by a front page story, "Posh Kidnap", in the NOTW in November 2002, and by a follow-up in the Sun.
The NOTW report told of a ransom plot by an international terror gang to kidnap David Beckham's wife and their two sons. Turcu was arrested and held on remand for eight months. A June 2003 trial collapsed. Lawyers acting for News Group Newspapers accepted yesterday that Turcu was not part of the plot.
- INDEPENDENT
