Victoria Beckham 'in total shock' after kidnap plot foiled
Victoria Beckham today said that she was in "absolute and total shock" following reports that an armed gang had allegedly been plotting to kidnap her.
The former Spice Girls pop group member, known as Posh Spice, told the News of the World of the horror of learning of the plot.
“I’m stunned by what has happened,” she said.
“It’s clear these people were serious and that, of course, has scared the life out of me. It’s terrifying to think that someone would want to do that to you and your children.
“I’m in absolute and total shock.”
She said she would be talking to her security team, adding: “But if people want to do this to my family how can you be 100% sure you’ll prevent it?
“If someone is that mad – that sick – what can you do? I don’t think this will really sink in for a while. I’m just so shocked.”
Mrs Beckham is believed to have been told of the kidnap plot yesterday but chose not to tell her husband, David, until after Manchester United’s game in the afternoon.
She watched the match at Old Trafford, but afterwards the concerned couple were reported to have made a quick exit from the ground.
Victoria gave birth to their second son, Romeo, earlier this year – a brother to three-year-old Brooklyn.
It is understood that the alleged kidnappers planned to seize Brooklyn and Romeo too if they happened to be with Mrs Beckham at the time of the kidnap.
Stuart Kuttner, managing editor of the News of the World, told Sky News: “In essence, about six weeks ago we were alerted that a gang of Romanians and Albanian criminals, or people of that persuasion, had a plan to try and kidnap Victoria Beckham and hoped to collect a ransom of £5 million.
“Our reporters led by the man who’s rather well known as the fake Sheikh - Mazher Mahmood – infiltrated the gang and in fact found themselves playing a central role with this group of people, most of whom were armed and extremely dangerous and potentially very violent.
“So much so that one of our people was recruited as the potential getaway driver for the abduction.”
He added: “Mazher Mahmood was alerted to the existence of this group of people and the fact that they had at that stage a sort of embryonic plan along these lines.
“On checking him out and checking a number of other people out, the gang accepted them as a legitimate sort of add on – a legitimate part of the group for this enterprise.”
Of the alleged ransom plan, Mr Kuttner said: “There was discussion among members of the gang in the presence of our reporters about this and at one point it was suggested it might be £1m and another member of the gang said it’s - I’ll paraphrase – hardly worth getting out of bed for that, why don’t we go for £5m?
“The plan was to hold Victoria at a secret address and had the children been with her – the two children Brooklyn and Romeo – to take them too and to try and extort £5m in return for their safe recovery.”
He added that the Beckhams were alerted to the situation yesterday and that he understood they were “enormously relieved and I think rather thankful”.
The News of the World claims that its reporters managed to infiltrate the gang by showing an interest in trading stolen goods.
David Beckham’s father Ted told Sky News: “David’s first thoughts will be for Victoria but also for the safety of his two boys – especially the new-born baby.
“I think that there are some pretty sick people in this world. I’m just so relieved nothing terrible has happened.”
A spokesman for Manchester United said the club was unable to comment on the matter at the moment.
The alleged plot to snatch Victoria is not the first kidnap threat the Beckhams have had to deal with.
An elite police organised crime unit reportedly helped foil a plot in November 1999 to snatch Posh and Brooklyn while David played for England against Scotland at Wembley.
A police operation, including officers from Scotland Yard’s SO1 organised crime group, thwarted the kidnappers, according to reports.
Officers were said to have been so worried that they moved the family to a safe house in the countryside for 48 hours.
No arrests were made because the kidnappers never got past the planning stage and left no written evidence, according to the reports.
In May 2000, police were called in after Victoria received a death threat – a defaced newspaper photograph with a drawing of a bullet pointing towards her, according reports.
The image was also said to show blood pouring from her head, with the message: “You are going to get what’s coming to you.”
Earlier that year, a doctored picture of Brooklyn bleeding from a bullet wound to his head was also sent to the home of Beckham’s parents.
After the first kidnapping incident, Victoria told Michael Parkinson on his chatshow that the couple had hired a bodyguard for Brooklyn, then 10 months old.
“There’s been a lot of stuff in the press about people wanting to kidnap Brooklyn,” she said.
“That was serious, I did have threats, the police were fantastic. Brooklyn has a bodyguard with him now.
“It’s something that’s really worrying, that’s every parent’s worst nightmare, something happening to their child. That’s scary.”
In July 2001, a woman was detained under the Mental Health Act after she allegedly broke into the hallway of the Beckhams penthouse and stole private post.
Chinyela Obue, 37, had hired a taxi to take her from her home in Scotland to the Cheshire village of Alderley Edge, it was alleged.
Earlier that year Miss Obue, 36, allegedly bombarded the England captain with obscene letters and presents, and attempted to break into his three-bedroom apartment.
