Taxman pulls out of Leeds United court challenge

The taxman has formally withdrawn a challenge to Leeds United's administrators KPMG.
Leeds United's summer of discontent took a dramatic final twist today as the taxman abandoned a legal challenge to the club's administrators.
The concerns of HM Revenue and Customs about the way accountancy firm KPMG handled United's time in administration were due to be heard in a case starting at the High Court in Leeds on Monday.
But today it was confirmed that the challenge has been formally withdrawn, bringing to a close the legal fall-out from one of the most turbulent periods in the club's history.
The 11th-hour decision was welcomed by Leeds United Supporters' Club chairman Ray Fell.
He said: "Hopefully we can put all this behind us now and get on with what we're here for – football."
But Mr Fell also questioned the motives behind the legal challenge, which set in train a sequence of events that led to United being docked 15 points by the Football League.
He said: "Without it there would have been a lot less heartache and worry for fans."
The taxman's challenge is understood to have related in part to the voting process used at a meeting on June 1, when United's creditors backed a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) deal to resell Leeds to Ken Bates.
The CVA would have been worth just 1p in the pound to creditors – including the Revenue, which was owed around £7m by the Whites.
The Revenue's opposition prompted KPMG to scrap the CVA in early July and put the club on the open market before again agreeing to sell to Mr Bates.
That second deal could be worth as much as 52.9p-in-the-pound to creditors.
But the Football League claimed that, by failing to exit administration via a CVA, Leeds had breached its insolvency policy.
As a result the club began its first ever season in the third tier of English football on minus 15 points.
United have said they will appeal to the Football Association against that punishment.
Leeds went into administration with debts of £35m at the start of May after two years under the chairmanship of Mr Bates.
KPMG and the Inland Revenue today declined to comment on the end of the legal challenge.