'Lord' Davenport to appeal fraud conviction

A crooked entrepreneur claiming Shropshire heritage, whose lavish home was used in Oscar-winning film The King's Speech, is to appeal against his conviction for a multi- million pound fraud.

Self-styled 'Lord' Edward Davenport, 45, who courted stars including Victoria Beckham and Simon Cowell, was the mastermind of an 'advanced fee fraud' scheme in which scores of businesses were ripped off. Davenport, who owns Sierra Leone's former High Commission in west London, set up Gresham Ltd in 2005 and pretended it had 50 years' experience of sourcing huge commercial loans.

He claims to be able to trace his family tree to Worfield, near Bridgnorth, as far back as the 1600s. He published details on his website, claiming various generations lived, married and died in the county.

Davenport, of Portland Place, central London, was jailed last month for seven years and eight months along with his lieutenant Peter Riley, 64, from Brentwood, Essex.

They were convicted of conspiracy to defraud along with Borge Andersen, 66, of South Kensington, London, who was jailed for 39 months at the same court on September 12. Their convictions came to light after a judge lifted a court order yesterday when the final defendant in the case admitted fraud.

But a spokesman for Davenport said the businessman was appealing his conviction. The fraudsters made their money by fooling clients into paying tens of thousands of pounds for due diligence and deposit fees.