Kevin Bond yesterday dropped his libel claim against the BBC, six days before his case against the Panorama programme Undercover: Football's Dirty Secrets was due to be heard at the high court. David Price, Bond's solicitor, refused to comment when asked by this column why Bond had dropped the case. But Bond's decision not to pursue his attempt to clear his name will remain with him throughout his career.
A pre-trial judgment by the judge, Lord Justice Eady, which discusses the facts in the case states that while making his claim against the BBC, he understood the programme "conveyed the impression that [he] was, on camera while being covertly recorded, expressing interest in prospectively receiving an impermissible payment (or 'bung')".
At the time of the undercover recording Bond was serving as Harry Redknapp's assistant manager at Portsmouth. When the programme was broadcast, he was Glenn Roeder's assistant manager at Newcastle United but was sacked shortly after the programme went out.
The Panorama programme showed footage of a conversation involving Bond and an undercover reporter: "I totally understand where you're coming from. I understand what you're looking for, and certainly myself and Harry would be open to listening to, you know, in order to come to some arrangement, if you like, where whatever we need, we'll make sure that we call you, and what you really want is that we call you and only you."
Bond is again Redknapp's assistant, now at Tottenham Hotspur. The BBC has not apologised, paid damages or any of his legal fees.
