A judge has dismissed a submission by a celebrity lawyer that David Beckham has no case to answer over an alleged speeding offence.
Nick Freeman, dubbed “Mr Loophole”, had argued that “it would be unsafe to allow these proceedings to continue” owing to what he claimed was a lack of admissible prosecution evidence.
District Judge Barbara Barnes told him a tribunal could reasonably convict the former England footballer on the evidence and ruled there was a case to answer.
The trial at Wimbledon Magistrates’ Court heard from four witnesses on Thursday morning regarding the sending of a notice of intended prosecution, which is said to have arrived a day outside the statutory 14-day window.
Mr Freeman is fighting the charge on the basis that the notice, sent on February 2, arrived at Bentley Motors on February 7, a day outside the statutory window and was therefore “defective”.
“It would be unsafe to allow these proceedings to go any further.”
A not guilty plea to a charge of exceeding a 40mph speed limit in contravention of a local traffic order was entered on August 17.
Former Manchester United and Real Madrid star Beckham was not in court.
The trial continues.
Mr Freeman has represented Beckham before. In 1999 he helped the then Manchester United player win his licence back even though a judge upheld a speeding conviction against him.
