David and Victoria Beckham have announced their intention to take legal action against the News of the World, after a judge ruled in favor of the newspaper’s decision to publish fresh allegations regarding the couple’s marriage.
The newspaper’s late edition today includes seven pages of new revelations from their former nanny, Abbie Gibson, who claims that David Beckham wanted to split up, and that Victoria was in tears due to rumors of his affairs with other women.
The Beckhams had sought an injunction against the News of the World in the High Court, claiming that Gibson was in violation of a confidentiality contract.
However, the judge ruled that the story was in the public interest, following a 90-minute hearing.
In a statement, the News of the World said that they had gone to “incredible lengths” to verify the facts of the story, and that they had not asked the Beckhams for comment on the allegations.
News of the World journalist Phil Taylor said in an interview with BBC Radio 5 Live, “The industry recognizes that when the News of the World does print a story, we go to incredible lengths to prove that every single fact we publish is correct.”
He added, “The News of the World would be very happy to sit down and talk to David and Victoria and hear what they’ve got to say. As always, what we want to know is the truth.”
A spokesman for the Beckhams said, “We are consulting our lawyers with a view to taking legal action.”
The News of the World story also provided further details regarding beautician Danielle Heath, who has previously claimed to have had an affair with Beckham, and alleged that Gibson had witnessed a series of rows between the couple.
Gibson claimed that Victoria Beckham had told her that the England captain wanted to split up.
When asked why allegations about the Beckhams’ marriage were in the public interest, Taylor said in the same interview, “The Beckhams, Britain’s most famous celebrity couple, have made millions portraying their relationship as a perfect marriage.”
“Abbie lived in their house for two years and she heard their blazing rows and in fact, it’s got so bad that at Christmas it reached breaking point and she actually heard David say to her that he wanted to split.”
Taylor stated that he had spent the past five days interviewing Gibson, and that they had gone through “forensic detail” about her time with the Beckhams during the two years she spent with them.
He added, “In the later stages, she kept a diary of what was going on each night. She became very close to Victoria. She not only worked for her, she was a friend of Victoria.”
He went on to say that the marriage had started off as a happy one, and that all the cracks appeared when they moved to Spain.
He said, “What’s clear is that Victoria is absolutely madly in love with him and would do anything to stay with him and David hasn’t been feeling the same over the past few months.”
Taylor declined to say how much Gibson had been paid for the story, stating, “The News of the World will never discuss how much we pay for our stories.”
“The truth is this is a massive story and we have paid her for it.”
