While I firmly believe that Rangers are on the right footing, and nearing the kind of standard we should be at, the news breaking last night over HMRC “over estimating” has opened old wounds for many Rangers supporters.

Both Rangers fans, and investors both in the Oldco operating company and the new one, have every right to feel aggrieved at actions taken by HMRC during the timeframe it was on the warpath with our club.

First off, it still rankles with me that David Murray took the course of action he did in taking up the EBT options that ultimately placed our club in the sights of those who needed no excuse to try to damage us.

That said, the actions of HMRC from the point forward where they identified it as an avenue to attack us need to be investigated. 

Let’s not forget that other clubs such as Arsenal used EBT’s also, with their claim of £40M settled at £10M. On the same basis, had Rangers “owed” £20M we should assume that a £5M settlement should have been acceptable. 

In the spirit of transparency it should now be made public how this sum was “overestimated”, who “overestimated” it, who sanctioned and managed the witch hunt against the club, and who was leaking information direct from HMRC to a Celtic minded blogger.

While former Chairman John McLelland is quoted quite rightly in the press today that this estimated sum owing it significantly impacted efforts to sell to credible investors, it’s the snowball effect from that which we really need to focus on.

This vendetta falling at the same time as the Govt taking ownership of Lloyds Bank, before said bank closed in on Rangers bank debts, compounded in an unmanageable situation, that ultimately led to the Administration of the holding company, a loss of £30M of players, redundancies for staff, written off debt to other debtors, loss of SPL prize money of £2M for 5 years, loss of TV revenue, reduction in value to sponsors of circa £25M, a reduction in ticket revenue due to lower pricing in lower divisions of circa £5M, and loss of potential access to Champions League revenue of £150M over the period since 2012 as the club has had to rebuild during this time.

To add insult to injury, HMRC, on the basis of their own miscalculation refused the Rangers holding company a CVA which would have prevented much of what happened post 2012.

In short, it’s a scandal.

There were people in positions of power in the HMRC who appear to have made “errors” that have simultaneously damaged Rangers Football Club, and benefited Celtic Football Club. At the time, both were PLC businesses, so this is about more than football.

Some shareholders lost everything, while others saw their stock rise.

I will state again, David Murray should not absolve himself of responsibility, however, government figures and civil servants would appear to have colluded to Rangers and we deserve to know why. Those responsible deserve to be removed from any positions of influence.

The current Rangers board & investors also have a right to feel aggrieved. Would Dave King, or the 3 bears have needed to invest scores of millions of pounds just to (try to) restore us to where we were Pre Admin? Lots of stakeholders should be asking questions and seeking justice.

When parliament reconvenes, MPs should be lobbied by all stakeholders for answers, and in turn they should work to provide these answers. It’s the least we deserve.