A Romanian man accused by the News of the World of plotting to
kidnap Victoria Beckham has lost his appeal against a High Court libel
decision in May.
Alin Turcu, whose real name is Bogdan Maris,
claimed he was set up by the News of the World in November 2002 and had
not been part of a fiveman gang plotting to kidnap the singer.
Penniless
Turcu did not appear in court in May nor offer any statement of
evidence. He was represented by lawyer David Price on a no-win, no-fee
basis.
The court heard in May that Turcu was a petty criminal
with a string of convictions and decided that the newspaper’s original
story was true.
After taking the case to the Court of Appeal,
Lord Justice Keene made an order refusing Turcu permission to take the
NoW to court again, saying there was “no realistic prospect of a
successful appeal”.
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