THE Rangers directors have gone to war with the would-be King of Ibrox in a bid to cling on to power.

 

The club agreed to a requisition by former Rangers director Dave King to hold a crunch shareholders meeting to oust the current directors, who are sympathetic to Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley.

In a detailed statement, the board moved to discredit Mr King and seriously question whether the former director under disgraced owner Craig Whyte's leadership was a fit and proper person for the role at Rangers.

The meeting is to be held in London, a move widely criticised by fans, and will decide whether to oust chairman David Somers, the chief executive, Derek Llambias, the finance director, Barry Leach, and the director James Easdale from their positions of power and to replace them with Mr King, the former Blue Knight Paul Murray and John Gilligan, the one-time managing director of Glasgow brewer Tennent's.

Mr King, a director brought in by former owner David Murray, last year settled a 12-year-long income tax dispute in South Africa after pleading guilty to, and being convicted of, breaching 41 criminal counts of the country's Income Tax Act. He agreed to pay £45 million as a settlement and fraud charges against him were not pursued.

The board of Rangers International Football Club plc, the club's controlling holding company, even posted details to the stock market about criticisms by a judge in the tax case relating to Mr King's character.

The directors said they had been advised by their stock exchange nominated adviser (Nomad) that there would be a "material adverse impact" on the company's stock market if Mr King is appointed to the board. Nomads are the primary regulators of any company floated on the Aim stock exchange.

Mr King has dismissed the notion that he was not a fit and proper person, telling The Herald that his settlement with the authorities in South Africa provided him with a "unique status of credibility".

The RIFC board said that if Mr King were to succeed, Manchester-based stockbroker WH Ireland would resign as Nomad to the company and shares would be suspended from trading immediately.

They further believed that under section 216 of the Insolvency Act, Mr King would have to obtain the leave of the court to join the RIFC board, as he had been a director when the oldco run by Mr Whyte went into administration and is now going through a liquidation process.

Rangers Supporters Trust said the board had shown "utter contempt" for the 5000 small shareholders by holding the EGM at London's Millennium Gloucester Hotel in Harrington Gardens - the first time in the club's history that a general meeting will have been held outside Glasgow.

"This can only be designed to make it much more difficult for fan shareholders to have their say at perhaps the most critical time in the club's history," said a spokesman.

"Not only have they made it difficult and costly for shareholders based in Scotland to attend, they have also failed to make adequate arrangements for those who may wish to travel.

"Also, we note the venue holds only 500 people. There were more than 2000 in attendance at the recent AGM and even more at the AGM in 2013.

"Clearly this board are afraid and are counting on the possibility that many fans will be put off by the venue. But let's show them that the Rangers' shareholder base is up for the fight."

Mr Llambias and Sandy Easdale, chairman of the club's operating company The Rangers Football Club Ltd, are said to have been advised by security staff to stay away from Ibrox on Sunday, when Rangers meet Raith Rovers in a Scottish Cup tie.

Mr King said of the board's objections: "Everything was a rehash of previous stories... nothing new there and already discredited. At least the clock is now ticking."