Celtic chief Dermot Desmond questions whether reporter is Rangers fan

Celtic’s majority shareholder Dermot Desmond responded to being confronted over allegations of his company avoiding tax by asking the journalist if he’s “a Rangers supporter”.

The Irish billionaire made the bizarre comment at the beginning of a letter to the Mark Daly after the BBC reporter approached Desmond prior to Celtic’s Champions League match with Bayern Munich.

Desmond said in the letter: “Dear Mr Daly, Are you a Rangers supporter?”

“I have not previously responded to your ill-informed questions.

“However, as I informed you last night, during my period of majority ownership, Execujet was tax and regulatory compliant in all jurisdictions it operated in; nor was it under any investigation.

“There are good operational reasons for having a presence in the Isle of Man and many international companies do so.”

“If you choose to publicly state that my investments are not tax and regulatory compliant or make any other untrue allegation about me whether by innuendo or otherwise, I will take action against the BBC and against you personally in both Scotland and Ireland for defamation and breach of privacy.”

Execujet, the company owned by Desmond and based in Switzerland, is alleged to have avoided paying up to £1m in Swiss taxes over three years.