bridge too far

Just had a reply from Penny: Dear ...., I am not asking the PM to take sides.Let me reassure you that- as per my PMQ today- I do want PFC to pay their tax bill. But unless we get PFC and HMRC in the same room, which is all I have been asking for, this will not happen. ...If the club is not sold any tax owed will not be paid. It is not special treatment, other businesses and indeed other football clubs have received a pragmatic approach from HMRC enabling them to settle their bills, but this requires the parties to sit down together and see what is feasible. Certainly we can let the club fold and the supporters could restart it, but that would not be in HMRCs interest. The club staff are not receiving salaries, so HMRC can be assured no further debt will be racked up. In other cases, where I have asked HMRC to take a pragmatic stance- in their interests as well as the company in question- it has worked out well: debts paid, company survives. I am not sure we will get such a happy outcome with Portsmouth FC, but it is worth a try. The point I also made today at PMQs was that, while it should be treated as any other business, it is a special case. Supporters have been badly served by a succession of owners who have ruined the club. It has also been failed by the football authorities who have decided that these owners are fit and proper people to be running the club. PFC has considerable social value and unlike a supermarket is irreplaceable. The government is pushing to get more supporter ownership, and for the first time in Portsmouth’s history there is a viable bid from a supporters trust. HMRC has a very restricted remit- collect tax that is owed. My remit is to get the best outcome all round- PFC in supporter ownership and tax bill paid. I hope that explains the position. Best wishes, I wonder if she regrets opening her mouth this afternoon.

Judging by the tweets to the glorious Penny, I think she may have opened a can of worms! If the PM gets inundated with emails asking about this matter, he may decide to actually look into the whole affair instead of just giving a PC reply to her. He MIGHT decide that pressure should be brought to bear on the judiciary to go against PFC. I won't hold my breath, however.

But these two are still there SneakyFC TruthWillOut @pennyMordauntMP Can you explain how you have had access to internal HMRC emails in relation to PFC? 21 minutes ago Anton13579 Tony Seaton @ @PennyMordauntMP They should pay thier taxes, With your other halfworking as a tax officer you should know that.

I emailed him as a resident of his constituency. I know for a fact that MPs have to respond to all correspondence from their constituents. It used to be within 2 weeks, but maybe the time period is shorter now due to us being in the electronic age?

Broadly what I said in my email.

I just have

Unfortunately, my MP is Dave and it looks like he's made his mind up already. Mind you, he does flip-flap sometimes

Stupid Penny Mordant (sp?) Tory MP for P*mouth, asking David Cameron to intervene with HMRC. Dave says he knows some PFC fans and it's only right that the friendly warfare with Saints should continue. FFS

I've climbed down from the bridge but I'm still too far away

I think it depends on the situation. For example, I think you can gift your children £x a year without tax but for a wedding it's more.

Is that right? I thought there was an upper limit to gifts you can give without attracting tax. For example, when one of my daughters got married, my mother could give her no more than £x without attracting tax.

Web chat seems to have dried up

Mucho Lolage Comment From Corporate Ho Corporate Ho : ] My mate who has connections with the club, who I see socially every now and then, has confirmed there are 2 offers for us. I still feel a deal will be done, Pompey has a lot to offer!

This is a pretty good user name too [TABLE=width: 100%] [TR] [TD][/TD] [TD][Comment From Terry Oaster Terry Oaster : ] My cousin (pompey fan) lives near Saints training ground in new forest. Reckons he's just spotted Pearce drive down the lane to the training ground car park? [/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE]

Comment From RussellHobbs RussellHobbs : ] Don't forget that we are the last undeveloped sleeping giant in the country. From the maker of toasters

A realistic skate or one of us? Comment From CoshamPete CoshamPete : ] I'd rather we start up again as AFC Pompey to be honest - let's face it, we're never gonna get rid of the smell are we? Fresh start, fresh hope - we've had it. Toast

I asked the same question and they haven't published mine either.

Love your comment on the webchat, Trousers!

pn_neil_allen Neil Allen Training ground update. Webster and Rocha also not out on pitch. Could be receiving treatment, of course. Interesting nonetheless. #Pompey

My daughter has just laid a real wood floor in her hall. We have engineered wood in our sitting room. I can't tell the difference TBH

Money - the clubs and the agents don't want their products 'tainted' because they'll be worth less. Sad, really.

If I might be a tad pedantic...... Those 'stars' you mention would be self-employed (otherwise they would be constrained as to which organisations they could work for). They might be contracted for a specific piece of work in the same way as a developer would contract with a tradesman, but they are not directly employed by publicly owned companies.

Aah yes, it was the Cenotaph. Thanks guys

No, I was thinking of the park OPPOSITE the coffee shop. It also faced onto the back of the Civic Centre. Is it the park that has the Titanic memorial? I remember the aviary though.

My school bus used to go through Six Dials - it always seemed quite a run down area then. When I was little, my mother took me to the Dolls Hospital in Six Dials because my walkie-talkie doll (brought for me by my grandfather in the US) needed her eyes fixed. Magical place!