A NEW war of words has broken out between the rival camps vying for control of Rangers on the eve of the Ibrox club's Annual General Meeting [AGM].

Paul Murray last night criticised the leaking of sensitive information after it was reported that the current board will stay in place after winning the backing of a majority of shareholders. The board denied the claim.

BBC Scotland reported the number of proxy votes cast on behalf of shareholders indicate chairman David Somers, chief executive Graham Wallace and three directors will be re-elected.

If the report is correct, this means other nominees, including Mr Murray and former chairman Malcolm Murray, will not have enough votes to join the board.

Paul Murray said: "We are very surprised that this information has been leaked to the BBC. It could only have come from one of two sources, Capita [Registrars, who provide company secretarial services for Rangers] or the Rangers board. We regard this leak as a serious breach of stock market regulations and will be having our legal team look at it [today].

"In the meantime, we would urge all shareholders and fans to ignore this propaganda, and turn up at the AGM to cast their votes and ask the questions they want answered by the board."

But Rangers hit back, with a spokesman saying the current board would be "outraged" by the claims and demanding that Mr Murray withdraw them.

The latest row sets the stage for a stormy AGM.

Shareholders Malcolm Murray, Paul Murray, Scott Murdoch and Alex Wilson have been seeking election to the board and won a court decision to have their nominations added to the AGM agenda.