Prime Minister David Cameron has body-swerved stepping in to save Portsmouth from a winding up order by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs.
The Championship club are due in court on February 20 over an unpaid bill of £1.6m.
Portsmouth MP Penny Mordaunt used Prime Minister’s Question Time today to plead the case of the club who as recently as July 2009 paid Liverpool £9m for Peter Crouch on the back of winning the FA Cup that season.
While Cameron was sympathetic to the plight the club is in he agreed to speak to HMRC to recoup the taxes owed from the club.
Mordaunt asked: “If a local supermarket closes down another quickly takes its place. If Portsmouth Football Club closes down, the Pompey fans will not be content with buying their season tickets from Southampton.
“Will the Prime Minister add his voice to mine in calling for HMRC to meet with the club so it recoups the taxes it’s owed, that our club survives and that the fans have their chance to become its owners?”
Rather than intervene with the business of HMRC the Prime Minister promised to speak to HMRC but predictably chose to concentrate on the ‘friendly rivalry’ with Southampton who’ve recently lived through administration.
Cameron responded: “I will certainly do that. I think she is absolutely right to raise this issue. Knowing one or two Pompey fans I can completely understand.
“The idea that they can go and support Southampton is completely incredible. We must do everything we can to keep this friendly rivalry going.”
SPL clubs Hearts and Rangers have both had actions served on them by HMRC this season without resorting to pleading to the PM for leniency.
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this could be the worst website ever. where from that quote have you come up with the headline?!?!?!? scottish football is useless and every club in scotland will be wound up soon because no one will watch it
Her loyal subjects must pay Her Majesty. End of Story.
You’s made yer bed now sleep in it!!! now burn m*ther feckers!!!! HH 1NL 😀
“As ye sow, so shall ye reap…”
“you made your bed now sleep in it!!!” “now burn m*ther feckers”
My word, how cold it must be north of the border – the intelligent part of your brain appears to have frozen!
While you are right, people should pay what they owe, if you have been robbed by unscrupulous band of owners it is not unreasonable to negotiate a little flexibility in the payment without cheating the public purse..
As for your Hearts and Rangers comments – difficult to understand how you get into financial trouble in a league that provides no competition?
i think you will find most posters are referring to rangers. we could not give a flying fuck about portsmouth, its only posted on a celtic site because this could happen to rangers. so before you jump in think!!
Here, here. Good post
How many teams have won the EPL in recent years? 2 I think. How many in Spain? 2 I think. Most leagues in Europe are dominated by a couple of teams. Lazy argument Paul.
Silly Pompey fan getting narked on a Celtic fan site.
Forgetting to pay your tax bill once was forgiven – you paid just 20p for each pound you owed US ALL.
Doing it again? Now you’re taking the pi55. Time you disappeared and started again in the conference never to resurface.