the times | Saturday April 30 2022 5News
When the door closed on Boris Becker’s
cell yesterday, it would have marked the
start of the loneliest night of his life.
The former tennis champion was
expected to begin his sentence at
Wandsworth, the Victorian-era jail
only two miles from Centre Court at
Wimbledon.
The Category B secure jail, which can
accommodate more than 1,
inmates, was described in a recent
inspection report as “crumbling, over-
crowded, [and] vermin-infested”.
After swapping his designer suit for a
uniform, Becker will have been given a
brief introduction by prison officers
before being locked in his “first night
cell” to get used to life behind bars.
“It will be one of the worst days of his
life but he just has to get through it,”
said Jonathan Aitken, a former cabinet
minister who was jailed for perjury injudge criticises his lack of remorse
Star addicted
to high life
Behind the story
H
is trophies have been
auctioned or gone
missing and the
homes are on the
market, leaving Boris
Becker with little more than
memories of his glory days
(David Brown writes).
The scale of his financial
downfall was exposed yesterday
as it was revealed that he had
been made bankrupt with debts
of £50 million. So far his
bankruptcy trustees have
realised only £3,184,655 of assets,
including £687,000 from the sale
of the trophies and memorabilia
they were able to seize.
It is a tragedy of Becker’s
making. The arrogance that won
him six grand slam tournament
titles could not contemplate life
outside the jet-set. Becker made
£30 million in prize money and
sponsorship while playing but
continued to enjoy a lavish
lifestyle on his salary as a
commentator for the BBC and
other broadcasters. His monthly
rent on a family home in
Wimbledon was £22,000.
There was also an “expensive
divorce” from Barbara Becker,
which included high
maintenance payments for their
two sons, along with payments
for a daughter conceived during
a fleeting encounter with a
model in the broom cupboard of
a London restaurant.
As the debts mounted Becker
remained confident that another
big payday was only months
away. He became involved in
business ventures including
gambling and sport sponsorships.
When the profits failed to
materialise he turned to lenders
who demanded a high interest
rate as he was considered a risk.
His bankruptcy resulted from a
£3.85 million loan from the
private bank Arbuthnot Latham
& Co in 2013, and £1.2 million the
following year from John
Caudwell, the billionaire founder
of Phones 4u. The former tennis
champion said bad publicity had
damaged “brand Becker”,
meaning he struggled to earn
enough to pay his debts. The
£4.6 million mortgage taken out
on his Mallorcan estate in 2014
had become £10 million by 2019.
By 2017 Arbuthnot Latham had
grown tired of Becker’s promises
that he would be able to repay
the money soon and obtained a
bankruptcy order. This meant
Becker was required to hand
control of his finances and his
assets to his bankruptcy trustees.
Instead, within a day of the order
he started £390,000 of
unauthorised spending, including
sending £28,000 to his first wife
and £83,000 to his estranged
second wife, Lilly, 45. None of the
money has been recovered.
Creditors have been paid back
£588,000 and are expected to
share a further £500,000 from
the assets already received. The
trustees hope to receive a further
£9.1 million from the sale of the
Mallorcan estate.Boris Becker, wearing his Wimbledon tie, was accompanied
by his girlfriend Lilian De Carvalho Monteiro at Southwark
crown court, who blew him a kiss as he was led away. The
three-times Wimbledon champion faces being stripped of
his All England Club membership, given to him aged 17 in
1985 when he became the youngest man to win the titleFrom Centre Court glory to rat-infested jail
1999 and is now a prison chaplain. “It is
a culture shock for everyone but I think
someone of Boris Becker’s strength of
character and discipline will be able to
cope.”
As a high-profile inmate Becker will
then probably be offered the chance of
being transferred to the vulnerable
prisoners’ wing — where many inmates
are sex offenders — or into the “general
population”.
Aitken said: “There will be no special
favours as a celebrity, everyone in a
prison uniform is treated the same. He
will be surprised how young everyone
is, many will be teenagers who have
never heard of him.”
Aitken advised Becker, 54, to ask to
be transferred to the general wing
where he may be given his own cell if
officers appreciate he is not a typical
prisoner. “My first words of advice
would be ‘don’t be afraid, you will get
through this’,” Aitken said. “Prison doesnot have to be a bad experience, even if
it is difficult. He will find the milk of
human kindness flows abundantly in
prison. Do not try to be a tall poppy just
because you think you are famous.”
The biggest challenge for a man used
to the high life will be boredom. He will
be locked in his cell for 16 to 18 hours a
day during the week and for 23 hours at
weekends. There will be few opportuni-
ties for any exercise.
Charlie Taylor, chief inspector of
prisons, reported on Wandsworth in
January: “There were not enough staff
to make sure prisoners received even
the most basic regime; for example,
they sometimes had to choose between
exercise, ordering from the kiosk and
having a shower.
“One group of prisoners... came
blinking into the sunlight [and] told me
that it was the first time they had been
outside for more than a week.”
Becker will perhaps find somethingin common with much of the prison
population — more than half the
inmates are not British. Mental illness
is common.
“Prison is full of somewhat unhinged
people, and he will be approached by
people who claim they can arrange for
him to be ‘looked after for £100,000’ but
there really is no need,” Aitken, 79, said.
“A third of prisoners will be keen to ring
up tabloid newspapers to sell stories
about him.
“Serving a prison sentence is mainly
in your mind. The worst thing is realis-
ing you have been [an] idiot and have
hurt the people who love you the most,
like your children. If you blame other
people you will have a miserable time.”
As long as Becker behaves he could
soon be moved to “open conditions”
where he can start planning for his
release. He will not be required to serve
more than half his 30-month sentence
but could be out in less than a year.David BrownNEIL MOCKFORD, BOB MARTIN/GETTY IMAGES; PRISCILLA COLEMAN/MB MEDIANews