Tottenham's assistant manager Kevin Bond has dropped his libel action against the BBC Panorama programme following Sportsmail's revelations. After a three-year fight against the makers of Football's Dirty Secrets, which was due to be heard in the Royal Courts of Justice on Monday, Bond pulled the plug after Sportsmail revealed the BBC was planning to name three high-profile football managers accused of taking bungs.

This will be seen as a major embarrassment for Bond, who has spent tens of thousands of pounds pursuing the case.

A statement from the BBC said: "Mr Bond has discontinued his libel claims against the BBC. We have not apologised, we have not paid damages and we have not paid any of his legal fees.

"We stand fully behind the journalism and were prepared to take it to trial. Mr Bond was the only person to bring a claim in relation to the programme."

There has been no comment from Bond.