TAX SLURS RUINED MY CAREER: STORRIE

Former Portsmouth chief Peter Storrie said tax dodge slurs against him ruined his career.

Last Updated: 08/02/12 at 13:04 Post Comment

Peter Storrie: Cleared of tax evasion

Peter Storrie: Cleared of tax evasion

Former Portsmouth chief executive Peter Storrie said tax dodge slurs against him ruined his career.

Storrie also said he contacted police after being harassed by opposing football supporters.

Wednesday's verdicts in the Harry Redknapp case mean Storrie's acquittal at a previous trial can also be reported.

Mr Storrie told Southwark Crown Court he has not been able to revive his football career as he waited to clear his name.

"For four years I could not tell everyone that I was an innocent man," he said.

"For 17 years I was held in very high regard in football. At the moment it is impossible for anyone in football to employ me. If they Google my name all they can see is this case against me and 'tax fiddle, tax deal and tax fraud'.

"It is totally impossible for me to get into football until I clear my name."

He said since the acquittal he has applied for a number of jobs unsuccessfully and he has been living on his savings which are "dwindling".

"Fortunately we are in a position to do that but I need to get back to work," he added.

Storrie described his anguish at abuse from the public, some swearing at him while he was out walking his dogs and others shouting in the street.

In one instance, at a Portsmouth away game at Southampton, he was forced to report a matter to the police, he said.

Storrie said: "I left the game with my wife and family. We were approached by half a dozen Southampton supporters yelling into our faces 'tax fraud'. It was horrendous."

PETER STORRIE STATEMENT

Here is a statement from Peter Storrie following his acquittal for tax-dodging:

"Despite protesting my innocence throughout, I take no great satisfaction from eventually being acquitted at Southwark Crown Court on the 20th October 2011.

"I suffered the indignity of going through two trials lasting a total of 12 weeks after the first was abandoned after seven weeks when the judge fell seriously ill.

"Clearing my name and ultimately restoring my reputation has come at a heavy price affecting not only me but also my family and friends who rallied around me.

"I have suffered both mentally and physically at the hands of my accusers.

"For four years it has felt like I was on trial every single day.

"Although my innocence has been unconditionally established, the lasting damage to my reputation throughout this long ordeal has left a very bitter taste in my mouth.

"Officers from the City of London Police originally arrested me following a dawn raid at my home on November 27 2007. They took this quite unnecessary action despite the fact that the club and I had extended our fullest co-operation to them since the commencement of their enquiries months previously.

"I then spent 25 hours in police custody, ten of those in a police cell, and predominantly answering repetitive questions about various football related subjects, that the Police and Inland Revenue plainly had little or no understanding of.

"The questions revolved around two cases of allegedly cheating the public revenue in respect of tax supposedly due on a payment made by an agent to a player Amdy Faye in 2003 and on a settlement payment made by Portsmouth City Football Club to another player Eyal Berkovic in 2005.

"The sums involved totalled less than £500,000 and in fact was said to be owed to the taxman by the club and not by me, and has always been disputed. I could never understand why this situation could not have been resolved without bringing this case.

"The club was in frequent contact and has always sought to cooperate with the revenue about its tax position.

"In fact during the period covered by the charges, August 2003 to March 2005, I would like to point out that Portsmouth City Football Club actually paid the Inland Revenue £31 million in taxes and National Insurance contributions and Customs and Excise a further £10 million in VAT.

"To make matters worse the court enforced a ban on reporting my case and even my acquittal by the jury, until the trial against Harry Redknapp and Milan Mandaric had been concluded. This trial, which unfortunately had to be delayed, had absolutely nothing to do with me.

"Having endured years of frequent press reports of the police investigations and the charges being brought against me, I feel very strongly that this reporting ban has, until now, denied me the right to speak out publicly after my acquittal or for any of the facts surrounding my defence to be publicly reported.

"For my family and I to have to read some of the negative things that have been said about me in print and on the internet has therefore been even more distressing since, as a result of the reporting restriction, I have been unable to correct the many inaccuracies and falsities that have been published about me. There is nothing that can ever make up for that.

"However, there are many people I owe a debt of gratitude to, notably my wife Frances who stood by me throughout this ordeal and never wavered in her support for me.

"Without her by my side I would never have come through this.

When the jury returned their not guilty verdicts Frances burst into tears and that moment will live with me forever."

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