Hall of shame: five biggest stings by UK's Fake Sheikh
Undercover reporter Mazher Mahmood, who was found guilty on Wednesday in a case related to one of of his stings, was notorious for using his "Fake Sheikh" alter ego to lure famous figures into indiscretions. Mahmood, a Briton of Pakistani ethnic origin, regularly dressed up as a wealthy Gulf Arab to land a string of scoops. Here are some of the self-styled King of the Sting's biggest hits: - Sophie, Countess of Wessex - In 2001, Mahmood stung Sophie, the wife of Queen Elizabeth II's youngest son Prince Edward, with an approach to her public relations firm. She referred to then prime minister Tony Blair as "president" because of his ambitions, referring to his "frightening" tax rises and "horrid" wife. She also claimed former prime minister John Major "used the royal family terribly badly" to cover his own problems. Sophie was forced to quit her PR job to prevent a conflict of interest after appearing to fuse together her royal status and her work life in her comments. - Pakistan cricketers - In 2010, Mahmood posed as a middleman to expose three Pakistan cricketers for taking money to fix parts of a Test match against England so that shadowy South Asian betting rings could make a fortune. As a result of the revelations, Pakistan captain Salman Butt was jailed for 30 months, Mohammad Asif for one year and Mohammad Amir for six months. Amir resumed his international career earlier this year after serving a five-year ban from the game. - Sarah, Duchess of York - The debt-troubled ex-wife of Queen Elizabeth II's second son Prince Andrew was caught out in 2010 taking $40,000 for access to her ex-husband, then a British trade envoy. "That opens up everything you would ever wish for... I can open any door you want, and I will for you. Look after me and he'll look after you... you'll get it back tenfold," she was heard saying. - Sven-Goran Eriksson - In 2006 the Fake Sheikh garb came out again for the England football manager, this time in Dubai. The Swede urged the undercover reporter to take over Aston Villa Football Club and said he was prepared to become their manager. He said he would quit if England won the World Cup, revealed star striker Michael Owen was unhappy at Newcastle, said David Beckham could not see his career improving at Real Madrid and branded Rio Ferdinand "lazy". Eriksson said some managers "put money in their pocket" in transfer deals. - John Higgins - The snooker world champion was stung at a 2010 tournament in Ukraine, in an operation which claimed the Scot agreed to lose specific frames for money. Higgins claimed he feared he was dealing with the Russian mafia and played along with Mahmood for his own safety. He was banned and fined for not reporting the approach.
