In February 2012, Yorkshire Radio broadcasted programmes featuring Leeds United Chairman, Ken Bates, in which Mr Bates discussed both L.U.S.T. and its chairman, Gary Cooper. As a result of the contents of these programmes, complaints were submitted to Ofcom, the broadcasting regulator. Today, Ofcom announced its ruling, in which it upheld all complaints.
In summary, Ofcom ruled that:
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Mr Bates’ comments about Mr Cooper were likely to have materially or adversely affected listeners' views of Mr. Cooper and L.U.S.T. in a way that was unfair to them.
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It considered Mr Bates had taken advantage of his position as a company director of Yorkshire Radio and, ultimately, its owner, to use the programmes as a vehicle to air his views about Mr Cooper and L.U.S.T.
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Yorkshire Radio failed to provide Mr Cooper an appropriate and timely opportunity to respond to comments made by Mr Bates in the programmes.
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Mr Cooper had a legitimate expectation of privacy, which was unwarrantably infringed in connection with the obtaining of material included in the programmes.
The ruling can be read in full HERE - page 63
This is a landmark ruling which clearly demonstrates to Mr Bates, and to all those who seek to influence and control through media outlets they own, that breaches of broadcast regulations and the rights of customers to privacy will render them accountable for their actions. Rules exist for all, and those who ignore or transgress them, in this case Mr Bates and Yorkshire Radio, will be made answerable to the regulatory bodies.
It will be of considerable concern to our members that a man who has been found guilty of harassment of the club’s former director, Melvyn Levi, and who has now been found by Ofcom to have disregarded the right to privacy of the chairman of a supporters group and to have used his control over his Yorkshire Radio to broadcast remarks and information intended to discredit Gary Cooper and L.U.S.T., is deemed to be an fit and proper person to not only remain in position as club Chairman but to be considered for an honorary role as president at the end of this season.
In this respect L.U.S.T. will make formal representations to both the Football League and the Football Association to investigate whether they feel Mr Bates is a fit and proper person to remain a chairman and director at Leeds United, and whether they feel his actions have brought the game into disrepute.
Since Mr Bates sold the club to GFHC in December of 2012, leaving the new owners with financial circumstances that Salem Patel has made very clear are less than favourable, our members also remain seriously concerned about the reasoning behind keeping both Mr Bates and Shaun Harvey employed in their roles as chairman and CEO respectively.
These are the same people who took the club into administration in 2007, the same people who told us we needed to pay Premier League prices if we wanted Premier League football, who took us to the lowest league position in our history, who have consistently sold our best players across a series of transfer windows in order to keep the club profitable, who have invested future season ticket sales in corporate facilities many will never use, who have sold off future catering rights, called supporters ‘morons’ and ‘dissidents’ and claimed ‘supporters should support,’ who removed membership rights for L.U.S.T. board members for questioning these policies. These are the men who between them have dragged the club through expensive litigation which cost the club and its supporters a ‘fortune’, who have ignored and dismissed the voices of thousands of fans who could see the financial mire the club was headed towards, and who campaigned for change because of it.
These are the men who, it would seem, are today involved in the search for a new club manager; and if what our sources indicate is true these men have also ensured that the new owners cannot communicate with L.U.S.T., or other organised supporters groups, because they are contractually prevented from doing so. For the sake of transparency for all Leeds United fans, we seek public clarification on this final point.
Today L.U.S.T. asks, on behalf of our members who raise serious concerns with us daily, who is actually running Leeds United? Furthermore, in light of the Ofcom ruling and all of the issues raised in this statement, do GFH Capital really believe it is in the best interests of Leeds United to continue to allow them to do so?
Guardian Article - 8th April 2013 - HERE
Friday, May 17, 2013 at 5:36PM 
