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PRIVATE EMAILS PURPORTING to be from David Beckham were leaked after hackers demanded payment, according to latest reports.
The retired football player blasted reports at the weekend that he used his children’s charity work with Unicef to boost his public image and chances of getting a knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II.
A spokesman for the football icon claimed “hacked and doctored” private emails had given a “deliberately inaccurate picture”.
Today, the Daily Mirror reported that the emails were allegedly released due to the hackers trying to blackmail the PR agency in question.
Beckham who retired in 2013, was the subject of a “Football Leaks” probe by the European Investigative Collaborations network, a consortium of 12 European media organisations, including France’s Mediapart.
Citing emails between Beckham and his staff, the reports claimed he initially refused to put his own money into his humanitarian 7 Fund, tried to obtain reimbursement from the UN children’s agency UNICEF for expenses met by his sponsors and was using his humanitarian work as a springboard for his own profile.
Beckham was made an officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in 2003, two steps below a knighthood.
In one email, he allegedly took objection to the singer Katherine Jenkins getting the same OBE award in 2014, slamming the British honours committee.
He appears to rail against not receiving a knighthood, saying : “If I was American I would have got something like this 10 years ago.”
‘Outdated material’
A spokesman for Beckham responded to the claims.
“This story is based on outdated material taken out of context from hacked and doctored private emails from a third-party server and gives a deliberately inaccurate picture,” he said.
David Beckham and UNICEF have had a powerful partnership in support of children for over 15 years.
The David Beckham 7 Fund specifically has raised millions of pounds and helped millions of vulnerable children around the world.
David Beckham has given significant time and energy and has made personal financial donations to the 7 Fund.
“David and UNICEF are rightly proud of what they have and will continue to achieve together and are happy to let the facts speak for themselves.”
UNICEF said it was “extremely proud” of its work with Beckham, saying he had generously given his “time, energy and support” and has “given significant funds personally”.
It said his 7 Fund had raised millions of pounds for UNICEF programmes.
We are extremely proud of the 7 Fund and all it has achieved for children. Since it launched in February 2015 it has raised millions of pounds for UNICEF programmes and reached millions of people around the world with crucial messages about our work for very vulnerable children.
UNICEF ambassadors give their support “in a voluntary capacity, receiving no fee for their time and commitment”.
- © AFP, 2017 Additional reporting Aoife Barry
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Private emails should be private. And for all intents & purposes, the Beckhams are good people. Everyone has a motivation. So what if he wanted an OBE?
I’m glad he didn’t pay the ransom to these goofs.
Anyone remotely famous or sending anything private should use something like Tutanota.
Gmails so easy to crack it’s laughable hotmail was worse and yahoo like google gove it all to the NSA anyway.
You think the NSA and GCHQ cares about celeb gossip? No but the do have a “collect it all” ethos you think there won’t be some NSA tech drowning in debt who won’t sell info to tabloids for cash? Of course he will
Keep diaries or confidential docs on an air gapped computer and remember an iPhone is the same as wearing a tracking device for GPS, sound and video voluntarily
@Jason Maguire: OK Becks
@Bairéid Rísteard: you forgot to keep your FB photos private. Embarrassing…. Ouch!
I watched his documentary with him traveling in Brazil with his friends. He was looking for sympathy from people because of his tough life. Lol. It was all me me me.. so it doesn’t surprise me the way he is now being portrayed.
Tom, was that the one where they played 7 games on 7 continents in 7 days all for charity?
@Tom Kelly: I never said they weren’t shallow. But from all accounts (and I don’t know them personally, unlike Mr Snuffleupagus below), they both seem like decent people who do their fair amount of charity work & use their celebrity to help others – and so what if that helps them too? They’re under no obligation to do anything with their time.
I don’t even follow or like football (or the Spice Girls). But the Beckhams seems to get a lot of undeserved criticism from people who do sweet FA themselves.
He got an OBE in 2003. It’s the big one he’s after. KBE
No matter how big someone’s smile is or how polished their public persona is..everyone’s looking for something.
Or maybe it’s just that people are grey, 3dimensional human beings with complexity rather than good guy or villains like cartoon characters
Tabloids polish these people up to give a perfect image of them nowhere near reality making joe mundane feel crap about their own life, but that’s not how they make their cash it’s only part 1 of 2.
Part 1 is revving them up part 2 is the payoff when they tear them down again showing them cheating (or it’s an open relationship but they’ll still spin that as cheating) etc that’s when joe mundane gets the emotional validation maybe my life’s not as pathetic after all
It’s sad, it’s a sad way to be. Thankfully we don’t seem to have the same gossip crazy attitude over our sports stars or politicos as the US and UK
Why do I get the impression it’s the wife and not Beckham, looking to recoup expenses? And she’s also the one that wants the kinghthood trophy in the cabinet I’d reckon.
@Mr Snuffleupagus:
“Why do I get the impression”
Because you like to pretend you know them personally? Some sort of fantasy to make up for your own dull existence perhaps? Do you set a little dinner table for 3, pretend they’re there, and you’re chatting away to your imaginary friends making mental notes like “oh, I bet she’s the one who wants the knighthood here – the cheeky mare!”
If it wasn’t for his missus we would have forgotten all about the existence of Beckham by now
@Jason Maguire: Because Jason, it’s well known she’s the business brain and the one with who is driven. It’s pretty simple to deduce the possibility from that alone you numpty.
@Mr Snuffleupagus: this is you talking to your best friends, The Beckhams.
http://www.photoshopcreative.co.uk/users/20574/thm1024/1418648236_Imaginary%20friends-tea%20time.jpg
“it’s well known she’s the business brain and the one with who is driven”
Well known by talking to her, eh!?
I remember speaking to a friend some years ago when he was running a minor charity event and arranging for a celebrity to attend. This celeb was making various demands as if he was… well… someone like Beckham and I told my friend he’d be better off telling him where to go an getting someone else but he insisted people like that are an investment. Charities invest their time and, yes, often a lot of their money too in these celebrities, but in return they get back enormous press coverage and considerably more money from increased donations.
Some G.A.A.stars are not much better with their demands.
It’s a pity that people give to a charity just because some ‘ celebrity’ is fronting it & probably getting paid a lot of money to do so. It’s also a pity that these same ‘celebrities’ can’t give their time to charities for free.
Didn’t his last football contract give all of his pay to unicef?
Isn’t it sad that all people can talk about are these hacked emails and not the money he helped raise for the good causes he supported . Well done to him and other celebrities who give their time and money to help those less fortunate than themselves. As for the blackmailer why the hell are n’t people criticising him/ her ?
Good point. People seem to be completely overlooking the UNICEF statement contradicting these claims too
Awite wiky, what’s for dinner love.
I always knew beckham was a spivv
It’s bad. After years of rebuilding and guarding a carefully crafted image, after the world cup fiasco, followed by Rebecca Loos, it’s all gone up in smoke.
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