Former club director Melvyn Levi has won a high court libel judgement against Leeds’ Ken Bates (above right).  The Guardian’s David Conn provides details from Sir Charles Gray’s verdict, the case stemming from Bates repeatedly hammering Levi in his Leeds programme notes, calling his predecessor a “shyster” and an “enemy within”

Sir Charles particularly highlighted the “gratuitous inclusion of Mr Levi’s home address” in one of the programme articles, and in another, “the reference to [Mr Levi’s] home telephone number being in the telephone book, which was in effect an invitation to Leeds fans to pester Mr Levi.”

Bates was ordered to pay Levi’s costs which, together with Bates’ own costs, are estimated to be approaching £1.5m. In his evidence last month, Bates told the court that despite receiving £17m from Roman Abramovich when the Russian oligarch bought Chelsea from him in 2003, Bates does not in fact have much cash. He said he was not in a position to put money into Leeds when the club was in financial difficulties, because: “People can be rich, but not cash rich – they have assets.” Sir Charles asked Bates if he was saying that was his position, and Bates replied: “Yes.”