Dan Walker defends David Beckham after claim he visited Queen's coffin for 'exposure'

Dan Walker leapt to the defence of David Beckham on Friday night after the former England footballer was accused of visiting the Queen lying in state for 'exposure' purposes.

Becks' trip was widely reported after he was spotted queuing amongst thousands of others en route to Westminster Hall.

The former England captain revealed he joined the line at 2am on Friday morning, before finally reaching the late monarch's coffin some 14 hours later.

And the father-of-four was clearly overcome with emotion as he reached the Queen, appearing watery-eyed as he bowed his head before making his way out of the hall.

Dan Walker leapt to the defence of the former England captain (Getty Images)

Former BBC Breakfast presenter later praised 47-year old Beckham on Twitter, writing: "Fair play to David Beckham for joining the #queueforthequeue. 12 hours plus apparently to pay his respects."

One user strongly disagreed, however, sparking Dan to come out in support of the star.

"Had to show his face didn't he, any chance of exposure," the user's tweet read.

Dan, 45, meanwhile, replied: "Have a word with yourself Chris. He's been there since 2am this morning. If he wants headlines he pops to the chippy in his PJs."

Becks queued for more than 12 hours before he reached Westminster Hall (Getty Images)

Dan Walker immediately shot down a Twitter user's claim that Becks was there for exposure (Getty Images)

Countless other users on the social media platform defended Becks, however, with one writing: "Fair play to him.

"Celebrities are the same as us all. No one should be allowed to jump the queue, what makes celebrities more special in this kind of situation, the Queen loved us all the same. Nice one David and to all the other famous people who have waited patiently."

Another commented: "Well done to David Beckham and to Susannah Reid who both queued for hours to pay their respects to Her Majesty The Queen while some so called "celebrities" jumped the queue."

A third declared: "Pity all other so called celebrities didn't do the same."

And a fourth said: "Quite right as why should celebs be treated any different to the public. Well done Becks."

* This weekend, the Sunday Mirror celebrate the life of Her Majesty the Queen with a commemorative special filled with all the key moments from Britain’s longest reigning monarch. Be sure to pick up your copy of the Sunday Mirror to get the pullout.