Former professional footballers have alleged they were 'financially groomed' into investing in failed schemes that later resulted in huge tax demands from HM Revenue & Customs, as an all-party parliamentary group was launched in Westminster.
The launch of the Investment Fraud Committee, co-chaired by lawyer Carly Barnes-Short and Conservative MP Sarah Bool, heard harrowing testimony from players including Danny Murphy, Brian Deane, Andy Cole and Michael Thomas. Murphy, now a pundit, described being hit with a £2.5 million tax bill after investing in a film scheme, and losing a 2019 court case over £1 million borrowed from Coutts to invest.
Murphy said young players were preyed upon by financial advisers who gained their trust through older teammates and managers. 'It's not footballers, it's young men being manipulated. People can't understand why you got into this position. It makes you feel silly – it adds to the shame. People have been through hell and back,' he said.
Deane said he had seen friends' marriages break and people pushed to the brink of suicide. The meeting heard claims that hundreds of former players from the 1990s have suffered mental health problems as a result. Campaigners compared the wider social impact to the Post Office Horizon scandal.
Labour MP Alex Sobel echoed Murphy in describing the behaviour as 'financial grooming,' while Lord Mann accused HMRC of pursuing 'notional income' and lacking the skills to tackle complex fraud. The meeting was also attended by deputy speaker Caroline Nokes and victims' commissioner Lady Newlove.
An HMRC spokesperson said: 'We sympathise with people who may have lost money by entering such arrangements and handle these on a case-by-case basis, taking the wellbeing of all taxpayers seriously.'
