Ken Bates rapped for harassing Leeds Utd rival over the airwaves - Yorkshire Post 17/12/13
BROADCASTING watchdog Ofcom has criticised Leeds United’s now-defunct club radio station over its treatment of former Elland Road director Melvyn Levi.
Businessman Mr Levi, 69, lodged a complaint with Ofcom after Yorkshire Radio made announcements in 2010 which he said likened him to a criminal on the run.
Now the watchdog has ruled he suffered unfair treatment at the hands of the station, which was launched just over a year into Ken Bates’ reign as United chairman.
Leeds’s current owners, GFH Capital, axed Yorkshire Radio this summer, less than a week after Mr Bates was ousted from the club.
The Ofcom ruling comes days after Mr Bates confirmed he was seeking to set up a new station called Radio Yorkshire. The broadcasts that sparked the complaint were made during a business dispute between Mr Levi and Mr Bates.
Ofcom’s adjudication says Yorkshire Radio put out announcements stating United were “searching for the whereabouts of Melvyn Levi in order to serve him some papers in relation to a High Court action in Jersey”. Ofcom yesterday said it was “reasonable” for Mr Levi to have been “troubled and distressed”. The watchdog added that it considered the station’s actions had amounted to “harassment”.
The adjudication also says that Mr Bates and Shaun Harvey – United’s former chief executive and current holder of the same role at the Football League – “exerted control” over Yorkshire Radio. Mr Levi, a Leeds director between 2004 and 2005, yesterday said he was pleased by Ofcom’s findings.
Businessman Mr Levi, 69, lodged a complaint with Ofcom after Yorkshire Radio made announcements in 2010 which he said likened him to a criminal on the run.
Now the watchdog has ruled he suffered unfair treatment at the hands of the station, which was launched just over a year into Ken Bates’ reign as United chairman.
Leeds’s current owners, GFH Capital, axed Yorkshire Radio this summer, less than a week after Mr Bates was ousted from the club.
The Ofcom ruling comes days after Mr Bates confirmed he was seeking to set up a new station called Radio Yorkshire. The broadcasts that sparked the complaint were made during a business dispute between Mr Levi and Mr Bates.
Ofcom’s adjudication says Yorkshire Radio put out announcements stating United were “searching for the whereabouts of Melvyn Levi in order to serve him some papers in relation to a High Court action in Jersey”. Ofcom yesterday said it was “reasonable” for Mr Levi to have been “troubled and distressed”. The watchdog added that it considered the station’s actions had amounted to “harassment”.
The adjudication also says that Mr Bates and Shaun Harvey – United’s former chief executive and current holder of the same role at the Football League – “exerted control” over Yorkshire Radio. Mr Levi, a Leeds director between 2004 and 2005, yesterday said he was pleased by Ofcom’s findings.
