Redknapp warrant ruling delayed

Harry Redknapp has led Portsmouth to this year's FA Cup final

Judges will decide whether a police raid at the home of Portsmouth Football Club boss Harry Redknapp was unlawful.

Mr Redknapp and his wife Sandra started legal proceedings after the raid at their home in Sandbanks, Poole, Dorset.

The manager, who denies any wrongdoing, was arrested and bailed by police investigating football corruption.

High Court judgement was reserved over whether a warrant for the raid was legal but a claim that police tipped off the media was rejected on Thursday.

Alun Jones QC, for the Redknapps, told the court that, for legal reasons relating to the nature of the material being sought by the police, the court had had "no power" to issue the warrant.

'Bitter disappointment'

He also said: "It is our case that they (the media) had been deliberately informed about this by the police."

But police lawyers said that the warrant was valid and had been granted on legitimate grounds.

They also strongly denied that police had tipped off the media in advance of the operation.

The court was told Mr Redknapp was abroad at the time of the raid last November.

When he arrived back in the UK later that day, he voluntarily attended Chichester police station where he was immediately arrested and detained for seven hours.

Mr Redknapp held a press conference following his release on bail and spoke of his "bitter disappointment" at the way the raid and his arrest had been handled.

He said he believed he had only been arrested because he was a "high-profile" figure.

Nine people are on bail in connection with the continuing inquiry by City of London Police.