Sir Geoffrey Boycott, 79, shuns the cameras and avoids interviews as he picks up knighthood at Buckingham Palace amid backlash over his conviction for assaulting ex lover

• Convicted domestic abuser shunned all media while picking up his knighthood 
• Boycott, 79, was found guilty of beating up Margaret Moore in 1996
• He allegedly punched her more than 20 times in a hotel room in France 
• Theresa May gave him an honour, outraging domestic violence campaigners
• His wife, Rachael,  has defended him - branding Margaret Moore a 'bunny boiler' 

Sir Geoffrey Boycott today shunned all media as he picked up his knighthood at Buckingham Palace amid public furore over his domestic abuse conviction. 

The former England cricket captain was honoured alongside musician Elvis Costello and Jack Reacher author Lee Child.

Boycott, 79, was found guilty of beating up his ex-lover, Margaret Moore, in a French hotel room in 1996. 

He opted to be on the palace's 'no media' list, meaning journalists and photographers were not allowed to interact with him. 

The convicted criminal was given the gong last year in former Prime Minister Theresa May's resignation honours list, sparking outrage among domestic abuse charities.  

However, his wife, Rachael Boycott, 67, claims the former England cricket captain Sir Geoffrey was wrongly convicted. 

She says her husband fully deserves his knighthood, which he is due to receive at Buckingham Palace today, and brands Ms Moore a 'bunny boiler'. 

Ms Moore has always stood by her account and French magistrates delivered a guilty verdict to Sir Geoffrey in 1998 that was upheld on appeal.

She told the court Sir Geoffrey was 'very strong' and she 'couldn't stop him' despite her 'screaming and screaming'.

The former cricketer has always protested his innocence. He insists his ex-girlfriend bumped her head while drunkenly 'hitting and kicking' him.

Responding to the backlash over the historic assault charge when his honour was announced, Sir Geoffrey told Martha Kearney on BBC Radio 4: 'I don't give a toss about her, love, it was 25 years ago.' 

In Mrs Boycott's 2,000-word letter of defence, she suggests her husband was deliberately framed by Ms Moore so she could sell her story. Boycott allegedly pinned her down and punched her more than 20 times.

'Just stop for a minute and consider has there ever been a miscarriage of justice,' Mrs Boycott wrote in the letter, seen by The Daily Telegraph.

'Could you be wrongly crucifying a good man? Just consider - could he actually be telling the truth?

'My belief after sitting through the court case and being at Geoffrey's side throughout his ordeal, is that Ms Moore was a 'bunny boiler' who saw Geoffrey as a meal ticket when she was about to go bankrupt for £800,000.' 

Mrs Boycott, who has been married to Sir Geoffrey for 17 years, sent the letter to leading critics of her husband's knighthood, including the domestic violence charities Women's Aid and Woman's Trust, and the Labour MPs Harriet Harman and Dawn Butler.

Former Spice Girl Mel B was also included in the list of recipients, after previously describing Sir Geoffrey as a 'disgrace to Yorkshire'.

In the letter, Mrs Boycott refers to newly-uncovered court documents that she claims undermines Ms Moore's account.

'I would like to share evidence with you that I believe casts serious doubt on Ms Moore's story. By taking her side unconditionally, I believe you risk devaluing genuine domestic abuse,' she writes. 

The documents reportedly include a record of a British judge accusing Ms Moore of a 'deliberate lack of truthfulness' during a bankruptcy hearing shortly after the assault.

Mrs Boycott said: 'My belief after sitting through the court case and being at Geoffrey's side throughout his ordeal, is that Ms Moore was a 'bunny boiler' who saw Geoffrey as a meal ticket when she was about to go bankrupt for £800,000.

'I believe she decided to make the allegations and sell her story after he refused to marry her. She even told Max Clifford she wanted a million. That's how deluded she was.'

The documents reportedly show Ms Moore's IT business had debts of £1.3million.

It is also claimed a barrister for Ms Moore asked for £1million for her silence over the attack.

Another legal letter is said, according to The Telegraph, to show she made false accusations against her ex-husband to prevent him seeing their two children.

A consultant forensic psychiatrist quoted in the documents concluded Ms Moore was 'probably a pathological liar' and had 'a personality disorder with hysterical and psychopathic features'.

Ms Moore did not respond to the Daily Telegraph's requests for comment. 

Costello, 65, who was made an OBE for services to music, praised the 'broad-mindedness' behind someone like him being included in an honours list and complimented the 'resilience' of the Queen. 

'The experience was very curious and gracious, I have to say,' he added.  

Child, who famously began writing the hit Reacher crime book series after he lost his job aged 40, laughed as he imagined that unemployment man telling himself now: 'Well, it worked, didn't it?'

The author, who was honoured with a CBE for services to literature, is in the process of handing over control of the acclaimed series of books to his younger brother, and said fans can expect a 'revitalised Reacher'.

He added: 'Happily my brother is very like me but a lot younger so the plan is that we should be able to continue into the future.'