The England skipper is said to be furious about the allegations, which were published last week and later did the circuit on email throughout the UK. "We are aware that there are malicious rumours circulating in the media about David Beckham," the emphatic statement read.

"There is absolutely no truth whatsoever in these rumours and the website we believe to be the source of these rumours has been contacted and all defamatory material has been removed. No publication of these rumours should be made as it would result in legal liability for defamation."

Victoria’s new Romeo - 02/09/02
David and Victoria Beckham are today celebrating the arrival of their second baby, a son they have named Romeo. (Not a girl named Paris as all were expecting.)

David announced to waiting reporters outside The Portland Hospital that the 7lb 4oz infant looks like Brooklyn "He has Brooklyn’s nose and Victoria’s chin." He added "It’s always nervous having children but it’s the most beautiful thing in the world and Romeo is just a name we love."

A spokeswoman for the couple says Romeo was born at 9.40am by Caesarean section. But she stressed that the procedure was not elective surgery and had been carried out under doctor’s orders.
The singer is expected to be in hospital for several days. The Beckhams are reported to have booked a suite of rooms at the hospital.

Nation in shock over Beckham - 11/04/02
England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson’s worst case scenario came true on Wednesday 10 April when captain David Beckham suffered a broken bone in his foot that threatens to exclude him from the World Cup. Just 50 days before the start of the tournament in South Korea and Japan, the Swede could only watch in horror from the stands as Beckham hobbled off the off after only 16 minutes of Manchester United’s Champions League game against Deportivo Coruna.

The loss of his most important player is a severe blow both to Eriksson’s preparations and the hopes of England’s fans, not to mention Manchester United’s hopes of completing a premier league and Champions League double. The shock waves from Old Trafford reverberated around the world as United boss Alex Ferguson announced that Beckham had a broken metatarsus - one of the fine bones on the top of the foot. If, as predicted, the bone takes up to eight weeks to heal, Beckham would not be able to play in England’s first game on June 2 against Eriksson’s native Sweden and his participation in the rest of the tournament is in serious doubt.

It is a terrible blow to the coach’s preparations, and Beckham’s absence would also deprive the tournament of one of its biggest names. Ironically, the injury occurred just hours after Eriksson had some good news about another of his star players, Liverpool striker Michael Owen. Capatin search Thankfully, Owen’s suspected foot fracture, also sustained in Champions League action, was diagnosed as only severe bruising earlier on Wednesday. But it has been a damaging week for England. While Owen remains persistently fragile, his club mate and fellow England striker Emile Heskey suffered a hamstring tweak in the same game against Bayer Leverkusen.

That match also saw Owen show a worrying loss of form by missing three gilt-edged chances in the 4-2 defeat that meant Liverpool were eliminated from the quarter-finals. With Steven Gerrard, from whom an even bigger midfield contribution will be expected, also looking out of sorts against Leverkusen, these are worrying times. England’s last home friendly before the World Cup is only a week away - next Wednesday’s game against Paraguay at Anfield - a game in which Eriksson had hoped, for one half at least, to field his first choice team.