Harry Redknapp in court to face tax evasion charges
Harry Redknapp 'avoided tax on bungs'
(40 minutes later)
Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp is in court to face accusations of tax evasion relating to his time in charge of Portsmouth.
Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp received $295,000 (£183,000) which he had no intention of declaring tax, a court has heard.
Mr Redknapp and former Portsmouth chairman Milan Mandaric are charged with cheating the public revenue.
Mr Redknapp was paid the "bungs or offshore bonuses" by former Portsmouth chairman Milan Mandaric while he was manager at the club, it was claimed.
The case centres on payments totalling $295,000 (£183,000) allegedly made by Mr Mandaric to Mr Redknapp.
Jurors at Southwark Crown Court was told Redknapp is a "hard-headed businessman with financial acumen".
Jurors at Southwark Crown Court were asked if they had strong allegiances to any of the defendants' clubs.
The pair deny charges of cheating the public revenue.
Harry Redknapp was an early arrival for the start of his trial. He was at the court soon after 08:00, but by then many journalists had already been there for an hour.
With limited space in the court room for press and members of the public, a queue had begun to snake down a corridor of the building.
At 10:05 the door to court six was opened, and Mr Redknapp and Mr Mandaric took their seats in the dock. This will be their home for much of the next two weeks.
As Mr Redknapp took his place in the dock, his son Jamie, a former footballer turned pundit, and League Managers Association chief Richard Bevan looked on from the public gallery.
A jury of eight men and four women has been sworn in and legal discussions are taking place.
The first of the two charges alleges that, between 1 April 2002 and 28 November 2007, Mr Mandaric paid $145,000 (£93,100) into a bank account held by Mr Redknapp in Monaco, to avoid paying income tax and National Insurance.
The second charge for the same offence relates to a sum of $150,000 (£96,300) allegedly paid by Mr Mandaric to the same account between 1 May 2004 and 28 November 2007.
Mr Redknapp, 64, who underwent minor heart surgery last year to unblock his arteries, is the most successful English manager in the modern game, having led Portsmouth to FA Cup success and Spurs to last season's Uefa Champions League quarter-finals.
Serbian-born Mr Mandaric, 73, is now chairman of Sheffield Wednesday, having previously worked at Leicester City.
Mr Redknapp, of Poole, Dorset, is represented by John Kelsey-Fry QC, while Lord Macdonald QC is counsel for Mr Mandaric, of Oadby, Leicestershire.
