Football legend, David Beckham has admitted driving his Bentley while using a mobile phone. The former England captain was charged after a member of the public told police they saw the 43-year-old on the phone while driving in London’s West End.
Scotland Yard Police in a statement said: “The Met understands a postal guilty plea was subsequently received by Bromley Magistrates’ Court.”
The father-of-four was said to have been witnessed driving his 2018 Bentley while using his phone in Great Portland Street on November 21. Two months earlier Beckham was accused of “shirking his responsibility” as a role model after avoiding prosecution on a speeding charge because of a technicality.
Enlisting the services of celebrity lawyer Nick Freeman, who is dubbed “Mr Loophole”, Beckham accepted he drove a loaned Bentley at 59mph in a 40mph zone in west London in January last year but Beckham did not face further action because a notice of intended prosecution (NIP) was not received until one day after the statutory 14-day time limit.
This prompted Joshua Harris, director of campaigns for Brake, to say it was “hugely disappointing” to see the role model “shirking his responsibility and getting off a speeding prosecution on a mere technicality”.
Beckham was sent another NIP over the latest incident and was subsequently charged on February 5, according to court staff who were unable to access any details of a plea. The matter is listed to be heard at the court in Bromley on Tuesday, but Beckham is not expected to attend and members of the Press and public will not be admitted.
The hearing will be an administrative one, known as a single justice procedure, where a single magistrate may choose to impose points or a fine. Freeman also assisted Beckham in overturning an eight-month driving ban in 1999 after arguing that the footballer was trying to escape a paparazzi photographer.
