Portsmouth are standing by chief executive Peter Storrie.

Storrie has been formally charged by City of London Police with cheating the public revenue through tax evasion. He will appear before City of Westminster magistrates on November 16.

Last night a statement on the Portsmouth website, which called Storrie "a man of impeccable repute", said: "We regard this action as seriously flawed. No evidence has been presented in this extensive 32-month inquiry, supporting any allegation of offending on the part of Mr Storrie.

"Urgent steps will be taken to highlight the lack of evidence presented by HMRC in an effort to conclude as quickly as possible this unwarranted prosecution."