Call made for Portsmouth politicians to back Pompey Supporters' Trust's buyout bid

Members of the Pompey Supporters’ Trust will sit down with Portsmouth MPs and councillors today at a meeting held by The News.

Confirmed attendees include local MPs Mike Hancock, Penny Mordaunt and Caroline Dinenage, Portsmouth City Council leader Gerald Vernon-Jackson and supporters’ trust board members.

Pompey administrator Trevor Birch and firm PKF declined an invitation.

It comes after the trust launched its community share scheme last week – an initiative inviting fans to register an interest in a future share offer to buy the club.

Trust chairman Ashley Brown hopes the meeting will unite politicians in supporting their efforts to save the club.

He said: ‘Individually, they’ve all been supportive over the last few months.

‘Now we’re moving up a gear they need to understand how they can help us – in particular the city council.

‘It will be an interesting session to see how committed the various parties and groups are in supporting what the trust is achieving.’

The trust says response to the scheme has been positive and Ian Peach, of Portsmouth-based law firm Verisona, said a count of how many pledges have been made so far will be held at the weekend.

Verisona is the third-party handling the account where pledges are made.

Gosport MP Ms Dinenage added: ‘The most sensible way forward is to have a community club.

‘It makes sense that we can all rally round and do what we can.

‘Pompey fans are some of the best in the country and having a successful club can lift the spirits of the whole town.

‘This is a great opportunity for the community to pull together.’

Meanwhile Mr Birch said there was ‘no news’ on his efforts to find a buyer for Pompey and added he was working behind the scenes to save the club.

He praised supporters’ efforts on the Football League’s online Fans Power Stadium competition to help Pompey net a £30,000 prize.

He said: ‘It says everything about how they are regarded in the football world.’