After five years of investigation it took a jury just five hours to last week (8 February) acquit Harry Redknapp (pictured) of tax evasion. For Redknapp, clearing his name after the 13-day trial at Southwark Crown Court could leave the path clear to the England manager role recently vacated by Fabio Capello. For HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), which pursued the high-profile case against the Tottenham Hotspur manager and his co-defendant, former Portsmouth owner Milan Mandaric, the outcome has led to claims that the case should never have gone to trial at all.
Press reports put the cost of the case – which saw the men charged with two counts of cheating the public revenue in relation to two payments totalling $295,000 (£188,000) made by Mandaric to Redknapp’s Monaco account – as high as £7m (though most tax veterans are sceptical the true figures would be that high).
