Victoria Beckham 'kidnap plot' foiled

Four men and one woman were arrested yesterday over an alleged conspiracy to kidnap Victoria Beckham, Scotland Yard said, after an apparent "sting" operation involving a Sunday newspaper.

The five people were arrested in London and Surrey and detained for offences of theft and conspiracy to kidnap. Another four were arrested early today. All are being questioned at unnamed police stations. The information that led to their arrests came from the News of the World.

The Beckhams first knew of the arrests when Victoria Beckham's mother telephoned her around lunchtime yesterday. Mrs Beckham then went to watch her husband play for Manchester United against Southampton. David Beckham was not informed until after the match. It was reported last night that the people detained were of Romanian and Albanian origin.

A News of the World spokeswoman said police had been working with the newspaper for "weeks". The paper had been involved in the story for "several months", she said.

Yesterday was not the first kidnap scare for the Beckhams. They hired bodyguards after a kidnap threat to their elder son, Brooklyn, in 1999. An elite organised crime unit reportedly helped foil that plot to snatch Victoria and Brooklyn while David played for England against Scotland at Wembley.

Reports at the time suggested an underworld crime figure had planned to grab the pair and demand a six-figure ransom. But no arrests were made because the kidnappers never got past the planning stage and left no written evidence, according to the reports.