Harry Redknapp 'confident of being cleared' over tax evasion

Tottenham Hotspur football boss Harry Redknapp was "confident" of clearing his name tonight after being accused of an estimated £40,000 tax evasion.

The 62-year-old Londoner voluntarily attended Bishopsgate police station in the capital to be charged with two counts of cheating the public revenue.

The move comes at the end of an exhaustive 26-month police and tax inquiry into alleged corruption in English football.

Charges concern two payments, totalling 295,000 US dollars (£183,000), from former Portsmouth FC chairman Milan Mandaric to Mr Redknapp via a bank account in Monaco, evading the tax and National Insurance contributions due between April 1, 2002 and November 28, 2007.

Ian Burton, Redknapp's solicitor, said: "Harry has co-operated fully with investigators during the course of this inquiry and is confident of a successful outcome to these court proceedings."

Redknapp was charged at the station at 3.48pm, Mr Burton said.

"The £40,000 figure is our estimate," the solicitor added.

The Premier League manager will appear at City of Westminster Magistrates' Court on February 11, a Crown Prosecution Service spokesman said.

A statement added: "The CPS Revenue and Customs Division decided there was sufficient evidence and it was in the public interest to charge Mr Redknapp.

"He is jointly charged with Milan Mandaric, the former chairman of Portsmouth City Football Club, following an investigation by the City of London Police and HM Revenue & Customs."

Redknapp's arrest was part of a wider inquiry, dubbed Operation Apprentice, by City of London Police and HM Revenue and Customs into alleged football corruption.

He was held in November 2007 by investigators examining a number of transfer deals at his former club, Portsmouth, and at Birmingham City.

The decision sparked a furious response from Redknapp, who accused police of targeting him because of his high profile.

Other figures who came under the police spotlight were Birmingham City's former managing director, Karren Brady, and former co-owner, David Sullivan.

Portsmouth chief executive Peter Storrie, former chairman Milan Mandaric, former player Amdy Faye and agent Willie McKay were also questioned.

Mandaric, 71, now chairman of Leicester City, was charged with tax evasion on Tuesday and ordered to appear in court on February 11.

Prosecutors said the charges relate to the payment of 295,000 US dollars (£183,000) to another person via a Monaco bank account, evading tax and National Insurance.

Storrie was charged with concealing a signing-on fee for Faye by paying it into the midfielder's bank account last November.

The allegation related to the transfer of midfielder Faye from Auxerre to Portsmouth for £1.5 million in August 2003.

Storrie will appear at Southwark Crown Court next Wednesday.

Portsmouth FC remains in financial turmoil as it struggles to repay huge debts, including unpaid transfer fees, following two recent changes in ownership.

Last August, Mr Sullivan and Ms Brady were told no further action will be taken against them. They always denied any wrongdoing.

In May 2008 Redknapp and his wife Sandra launched a court challenge against his arrest and the search of their home in Sandbanks, Poole.

They were awarded £1,000 damages against City of London Police after the High Court ruled a search of their home was unlawful.

Redknapp - who was believed to have led training at the club's Chigwell base this morning - is due to address the press at a press conference at noon tomorrow.