Former Leeds United director Morris on blackmail charge

FORMER Leeds United director Simon Morris has been charged with conspiracy to blackmail.

Bankrupt property tycoon Morris, 32, and a 49-year-old man from Cheshire were arrested and bailed in October as part of an investigation into fraud and money laundering.

Both men have now been charged with conspiracy to blackmail along with possession of a firearm and possession of an offensive weapon.

They were charged after reporting to a Leeds police station on Sunday evening and are due to appear at the city’s Magistrates’ Court on December 15.

A spokesman for West Yorkshire Police said: “A 49-year-old man from Hyde, Cheshire, has been charged with conspiracy to blackmail, possession of a Section 5 firearm and possession of an offensive weapon.

“A 32-year-old man from Leeds has been charged with conspiracy to blackmail.”

Morris was a director of the Yorkshire Consortium that ran Leeds United from 2004 until 2005 when the club was taken over by its current chairman Ken Bates.