What is the David Beckham email scandal, where did the leak come from and what did he say about Katherine Jenkins?
SPORTS superstar David Beckham was allegedly the victim of a £1million blackmail plot - after hackers reportedly made threats to expose damaging emails.
A total of 18.6million emails, communications and documents were accessed containing three years' worth of information.
A police probe has now been launched in Portugal where Beckham's PR guru has his HQ.
What is 'Beckileaks'?
Bombshell material discovered from a cache of leaked emails between David Beckham and his advisers has been dubbed 'Beckileaks'.
It exposes Beckham's attempts to use his charity work as part of a campaign for a knighthood.
In one message he branded the Honours Committee “unappreciative c***s” and dismissed lower awards, ranting: “Unless it’s a knighthood f*** off”.
The footie hero also branded Katherine Jenkins' OBE a "f***ing joke”.
Oliveira has said the messages were “hacked and doctored” to “give a deliberately inaccurate picture”.
Last night the football legend is said to have told pals he is just a “normal person” who was “extremely disappointed not to get a knighthood”.
Where did the leaks come from?
The damaging dossier was obtained by the Football Leaks website and published by European sites including Der Spiegel, L’Equipe and El Mundo.
Content was accessed from the servers of Doyen Global, the sports management firm run by PR guru Simon Oliveira, 43, over a three-year period.
Who are Simon Oliveira and Dave Gardner?
Simon Oliveira is joint Managing Director of PR firm Doyen Global after founding the company with Matthew Kay.
He is said to be the man behind Brand Beckham and is the footie star's confidant and close pal.
He was brought in to help improve the media management of stories about the football star during a period of strain with the British press in 2004.
Oliveira recently took over One Direction Liam Payne's fortunes after he went solo last year.
Beckham's best pal David Gardner is married to actress Liv Tyler who in July welcomed a baby girl, naming her Lula Rose.
He had a short career at the Manchester Unite Youth team when he was just 14 years old, which is where is met the future England captain.
He soon set up the Elite Sports Agency with Six Alex Ferguson's son Jason and became one of the biggest football agents in the Premier League.
Dave Gardner is David's eldest son Brooklyn's godfather.
What did Beckham say about Katherine Jenkins?
David Beckham claimed opera singer Katherine Jenkins did not deserve her OBE - branding it a "f***ing joke".
But the Welsh star, 36, has since defended her right to the award in the 2014 New Year Honours.
Her manager, Professor Jonathan Shalit, told The Sun: “Beckham says, ‘Katherine Jenkins OBE for what? Singing at the rugby and going to see the troops plus taking coke. F***ing joke’.
“I say Katherine was awarded an OBE for her services to music and charity.
“With regards to the taking of coke which Katherine has courageously publicly admitted with great honesty — this was when she was in her early 20s still studying, over a decade before she was awarded her OBE and started her recording career.”
What do the emails say about Unicef?
The leaked emails show how Beckham, worth an estimated £280million, complained about being approached by Unicef’s ambassador relations manager Chloe Edwards about contributing cash.
In one he allegedly wrote: “Chloe asked me outright which I was p***ed off about . . . I don’t want to do it and won’t do it with my own money.”
Beckham’s Unicef 7 fund has raised more than £4.3million since it launched in 2015 — money which has been used to support children all over the world.
Unicef’s deputy executive director Justin Forsyth also backed the global star. He tweeted: “For over 15 years David Beckham has been a dedicated and passionate @UNICEF ambassador, helping many thousands of children.”
What about Beckham's use of Instagram?
A Dan Wootton exclusive revealed how Becks grovelled to the Queen in a bid for a knighthood, and repeatedly used social media to plug the establishment.
A source said: “It’s incredible to see the lengths he went to.”
It has emerged his Instagram account, with 37.2million followers, was repeatedly used to help push his claims for a knighthood.
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