Please log in or register. Registered visitors get fewer ads.
"Bates should be locked up" - Levi
Monday, 23rd Apr 2012 19:35

The Yorkshire Post report that Ken Bates is facing former Leeds United director Melvyn Levi in court again.

Leeds County Court was the setting for today's latest battle between former Leeds United Director Melvyn Levi and Chairman Ken Bates.

Mr Levi was part of the Yorkshire based consortium that sold the club to Bates in 2005, however the pair fell out big-time and Levi has already won a High Court battle against Bates in 2009 when a Judge awarded him £50,000 damages for comments made by the Leeds chairman including calling Mr Levi "a shyster".

Levi has since brought a further claim for damages for harassment, an injunction preventing any future harassment and a claim for personal injury. Levi claims he has had to seek help from a psychiatrist, him and his wife Carole rarely leave home and he is constant "irritable" all brought on by what he claims is harassment mainly through the matchday programme notes written by Bates.

The long-list has included:

The title of one column, aimed at Levi called "The Enemy Within". Levi has previously argued that this is a slur against his Jewish heritage as a chapter of the same name appears in Adolf Hitler's "Mein Kampf".

Bates also asked his readers to consider what became of Bramley RL's ground, Levi was formerly on their board. The land now occupies a housing estate.

In what was arguably his most controversial piece, Bates printed Levi's home address in the programme. Levi's barrister Simon Myerson told the court as a result his client was told by West Yorkshire Police to "beef up security", personal panic alarms were installed and Mr and Mrs Levi were told not to leave their house unless absolutely necessary.

In the action brought against Bates and Chief Executive Shaun Harvey, Levi claims Bates has "ruined his life" and accuses him of referring to him and his associates as "a pair of money grabbing spivs".

In a statement to the court, Mr Levi said "Mr Bates has stolen six and a half years of our lives, six and a half precious years."

He went on to say that Bates should be "locked up" and that he lives in "constant fear" Bates will use his programme notes to attack him further.

Bates' programme notes are widely read and even as far back as his Chelsea days, he was not afraid to use them to speak his mind. He once claimed that sales of the Chelsea programme fell by 10% when he stopped writing them.

Bates and Mr Harvey deny the claims. The case continues.

Photo: Action Images



Please report offensive, libellous or inappropriate posts by using the links provided.


You need to login in order to post your comments

Southampton Polls

About Us Contact Us Terms & Conditions Privacy Cookies Advertising
© FansNetwork 2024