Five men cleared of plotting the kidnap of Victoria Beckham

FIVE men were cleared yesterday of plotting to kidnap Victoria Beckham and ransom her for £5 million.

The case against four Romanians and an Albanian collapsed after the Crown Prosecution Service said the evidence of a key witness was unreliable. The witness, a 27-year-old Kosovan parking attendant with criminal convictions for dishonesty, was paid £10,000 by the News of the World.

The case raised new questions about chequebook journalism and the tainting of trials by payments to witnesses.