Alex Thomson is a distinguished war correspondent, and one of the UK’s top news broadcasters. Recently he has been looking into Scottish football, and especially the Rangers Tax Case.
Various pundits and fan sites have accused him of being deluded and following the hidden agendas of others. He has even been described as a dupe, and taken in by “Timmy” conspiracies.
When last week he fronted a Channel 4 news piece on the story there were various disparaging remarks about the lack of anything new.
As I say in the heading – be careful what you wish for!
Tonight he has a piece on the story on Channel 4 News, which definitely moves the saga on.
You can read his article here.
Some choice highlights:-
Mike McGill, former Rangers director – admitting that none of the EBT “loans” have ever been repaid.
Correspondence from Martin Bain, former Chief Executive, looking to have his pay rise put through the trust “obviously as a discretionary bonus it cannot be contractual”
Martin Bain referring to payment through the EBT to players coaches “and more recently John Greig”.
Martin Bain (again) writing to chairman John McClelland referring to having his contract letter “shredded”.
As Mr Thomson concludes his piece – “what they were doing could well be perfectly legitimate but it’s questions like these upon which the tax case may hinge”.
I had speculated about Mr Bain’s dropping of his court action yesterday. Today leads to national UK coverage which, at the very best, looks bad for him and for Rangers.
Those who criticised Mr Thomson for being “taken in” might have to look at their views again.
Random Thoughts Re Scots Law by Paul McConville 
Sounds like Thomson has a good source for that Rangers Tax Case stuff. Hmmm, wonder who it could be…
I await Mr Bain’s rebuttal of all accusations with interest, now that he’s unconstrained by legal considerations from speaking his mind.
Extremely interesting… Is this finally the smoking gun that Hector needs? I have been continually disappointed when companies get away with tax evasion.
And how will Scotland’s mainstream press report this tomorrow? – my bet – with a deafening hush. They will fill their pages with Naismith’s knee and Edu’s ankle. Some things will never change.
Naismith’s knee, Edu’s ankle, Designated Legned Sandy Jardine delivering a show cheque to Dunfemline, selfless Franco Baresi’s desire to boost the Rangers Charity Fund et al. Meanwhile, in other news, two banter-fueled Ayrshire scamps get their knuckles wrapped in a court, while Neil Lennon continues to explode with rage at yet another honest-to-goodness match official…
I really do struggle to see how “what they were doing could be legitimate”.
Oh dear the Teddy Bears have been naughty. Time to pay your taxes to help the country. God Bless the Queen.
Paul, prescient or what? Is bain the smoking gun? What’s the odds of tomorrows sport headlines focussing on Neil Lennon’s temperament etc. Incidentally, given the goings on today in the Neil Lennon “assault” trial, does that give the scottish press a righteous soapbox to condemn the victim again for being someone that it is okay to have a go at and that it is understandable that people may be driven to victimise him because, by his demeanour, he “brings it upon himself”