Michael Howard and Tom Hicks

A BITTER spat has broken out between a former Conservative leader and an ex-Canadian prime minister over the takeover of Liverpool Football Club.

The war of words – between lifelong Liverpool fan Michael Howard and Quebec-born Brian Mulroney – follows the ousting of Tom Hicks and George Gillett by the owners of the Boston Red Sox.

It began when Mr Mulroney spoke out against what he called the unfair "character assassination" of Hicks, whom he described as "a long-time friend and business colleague".

In a letter to The Times newspaper, the former prime minister wrote: “What I witnessed first hand in London, and what transpired in the time leading up to it, decisively crossed the line from decency to outrageousness.

“The facts are incontrovertible – a profitable and highly-valuable asset, one that the owners had helped to improve through considerable investment and a series of transactions, was sold at a bargain basement price. Board members in lucrative and prestigious positions turned on the owners, whose interests they were supposed to protect, and did it in an environment akin to a witch-hunt.”