Former professional footballer David Beckham has denied speeding along a west London dual carriageway.
According to the prosecution (the Met Police we believe, as these cases are normally police-led prosecutions) the star's black Bentley Bentayga was clocked doing 59 mph in a 40 mph zone on the A40 between Paddington and Kensington on 23rd January 2018.
Beckham, 43, entered a not guilty plea on 17th August 2018 and will appear at Lavender Hill Magistrates' Court this Tuesday, 28th August 2018.
This is an interesting case. Given events so far, Beckham apparently accepts that he was behind the wheel of the £160,000 car at the time of the alleged offence. If he didn't accept that, then the police would currently be pursuing whoever he identified as the driver on the section 172 notice.
He must be relying on a defence along the lines of "I wasn't speeding", which is a tricky one when you're almost 20 mph over the limit. Of course, for all we know he might already have points on his licence, thus pleading not guilty is the only possible way of escaping a totting up disqualification.
The Sentencing Guidelines dictate that Beckham will receive a Band B fine if convicted, which is the equivalent of a week's income. However, any fine imposed cannot exceed the statutory maximum of £1,000. In addition, he will either have his licence endorsed with 4 to 6 penalty points or face a disqualification of 7 to 28 days.
Let's see what happens on Tuesday. Given the high profile of the case, it will almost certainly be a District Judge presiding.
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