Mark Daly and the BBC can expect to hear from Dermot Desmond’s legal team.
‘Are you a Rangers supporter?’ will be enough to keep the hard of thinking amused but in the letter sent the day after being doorstepped by Daly there was a hard hitting message.
Since finding the courage in 2012 to produce the list of those former Rangers (IL) employees that enjoyed ‘EBT’ payments BBC Scotland have elected to do nothing more on that story. The state broadcaster has turned into a cheerleader for all things Ibrox.
As recently as Friday November 3 the club from Ibrox published audited accounts- other than an agency report on a couple of details BBC Scotland haven’t looked at the accounts never mind use their vast resources to analyse the results. Five years of losses, on a turnover of £29.2m a loss of £6.7m was incurred, director loans are standing at £16m (more than 50% of turnover) while a guy declared penniless last month has promised £7.2m to keep the lights on!
Have BBC Scotland looked into that little lot? Not a peep three days later despite the biggest and highest paid newsroom in the country.
BBC Scotland and tax is an issue on it’s own with many broadcasting favourites paid through companies without National Insurance or Income Tax deducted.
When QC for Dave King was telling the Court of Session that his client was penniless the BBC had pulled the plug on the second day of the hearing. The live tweets from their correspondent had proved just too lively.
As they stepped up their interest on an Irish businessman and his Swiss tax affairs BBC Scotland have overstepped the mark. Their fondness for all things Ibrox and failure to investigate Dave Murray and Dave King has been shameless as a South African judge once stated.
Last night the boys at Pacific Quay became heroes to the unhinged sections of the Ibrox support desperate to equalise the liquidation and death of their club.
Lapping up the praise from Willie and Billy in Larkhall and Kilwinning will feel good, the paragraph from Desmond’s letter will eventually blow a chill through BBC Scotland.
Desmond warned: “If you choose to publicly state that my investments are not tax and regulatory compliant or make any other untrue allegation about me whether by innuendo or otherwise, I will take action against the BBC and against you personally in both Scotland and Ireland for defamation and breach of privacy.”
Six-in-a-row has been painful for BBC Scotland, the continuing fiasco at Ibrox has demoralised their superiority complex. Last night’s news coverage will be exceptionally costly for Daly and his support team.
Is Income Tax and National Insurance deducted from the payments BBC Scotland lavish on Alex Rae, Billy Dodds, Steven Thompson and Barry Ferguson?
