07/09/2012

Ecclestone Blackmailer Jailed For Five Years

A man has been sentenced to 5-years for attempting to blackmail F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone.

Martin Peckham, who admitted blackmail, demanded up to £200,000 from Mr Ecclestone in December, claiming his daughter Tamara would be abducted.

He told Mr Ecclestone he was a security expert who could foil a Middle Eastern plot to kidnap the 27-year-old.

41-year-old Peckham of Colchester, planned to use the money to fund his own wedding, Southwark Crown Court heard.

The court heard dental technician Peckham, who lives in Silverthorne Close, hit upon the idea of blackmailing Mr Ecclestone after reading about a similar plot to blackmail the billionaire in a tabloid newspaper.

Prosecutor Peter Zinner said Peckham repeatedly called Mr Ecclestone and Ms Ecclestone's then boyfriend, Omar Khyami, claiming to update them about the abduction plot.

(H)


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