Vendetta claims rubbish, Ken Bates tells court

Leeds County Court has heard that Yorkshire businessman Melvyn Levi and his wife Carole were made ill after Mr Bates published libellous remarks about him.

The couple are seeking damages for harassment from Mr Bates, Leeds United and Yorkshire Radio, a radio station which broadcasts live commentary of the club’s matches.

They have also applied for an injunction against Mr Bates to prevent further harassment.

Giving evidence yesterday, Mr Bates rejected suggestions that he had harassed the couple and claimed that he was merely seeking to recover money which had been “stolen” from the club.

The 80-year-old chairman, who bought the club in 2005 from a consortium including Mr Levi, spoke quietly during the hearing, complaining of a sore throat.

But he was unreserved in his criticism of the line of questioning taken by the Levis’ barrister, Simon Myerson QC, branding the lawyer’s suggestions “rubbish”, “pathetic” and “a disgrace”.

At one point Judge Mark Gosnell had to ask Mr Bates to “calm down” and to use less “inflammatory language” in the witness box.

Mr Levi was awarded £50,000 in damages in 2009 after a High Court judge ruled that he had been libelled by Mr Bates in articles published in the programme.

The Leeds chairman had alleged Mr Levi was a “shyster” who tried to blackmail the club over money.

The hearing has been told that the Levis were forced to carry personal alarms and bolster security at their Leeds home after the programme published their address and invited supporters to look up their telephone number.

Asked by Mr Myerson QC whether he should have thought more carefully about what he wrote, Mr Bates replied: “You are being wise after the event, which of course is your privilege.

“In the real world, which I doubt you have ever worked in, things work very differently.”

Mr Myerson said: “In the real world, people can buy football clubs, have their own columns and write whatever they like about people?”

“You are being pathetic now,” Mr Bates replied.

The court has heard that the Levis had been questioned about the state of their marriage since Mr Bates wrote an article which wrongly suggested they had spent time apart over the Christmas period in 2010.

It was suggested that Mr Bates had “deliberately dragged” the couple’s marriage into the programme, but Mr Bates said this was “rubbish”.

Mr Myerson put it to Mr Bates: “Do you accept that simply stopping writing about them would prevent them being upset?”

“I don’t think so,” Mr Bates replied.

Mr Bates said the club had not published anyone else’s address in the programme because “there hasn’t been a dispute with anybody else”.

Mr Myerson asked him: “Do I understand from that, that if there was a dispute you would think it was perfectly acceptable to print an address?”

Mr Bates replied: “You are not entitled to draw that conclusion. It would depend on the circumstances.”

Mr Myerson put it to Mr Bates that any future articles he wrote about Mr Levi would continue to rely on “scraps of hearsay and gossip” to “fit the picture you want”.

“Rubbish,” Mr Bates replied. “That wasn’t a question. It was a statement.”

Earlier, Leeds chief executive Shaun Harvey told the court that the club was spending a “fortune” on legal fees in the long-running dispute.

He said: “There is no doubt that Mr Bates writes things in the programme notes that I as an individual wouldn’t do. It’s a different approach and a different style.”

The court heard that Leeds had begun legal proceedings against Mr Levi and his business partner, Robert Weston, over allegations that the club is owed more than £190,000 following the termination of a contract in 2005.

The proceedings were initially brought in Jersey, but that action was stayed, with Leeds ordered to pay costs.

Mr Myerson asked: “Is anybody exercising control or is it that an elderly man is being indulged in his vendettas?

Mr Harvey replied: “We are advised professionally by solicitors in both Jersey and England.”

The hearing continues.