Venables accuses Alan Sugar of forcing him out of Spurs

Football chief Terry Venables told a court yesterday he was forced out of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club by his "untruthful" and "greedy" partner Alan Sugar. He claimed that when the once "horrendously" debt- ridden club began raking in millions under their management, the Amstrad chief decided he wanted it all for himself. When fans turned against him, he tried to "justify" himself by "throwing all sorts of lies against me", said Mr Venables. He was then questioned by the Serious Fraud Officeand the Department of Trade and Industry.

Mr Venables was giving evidence at Knightsbridge Crown Court, in central London, for his business associate Eddie Ashby, who denies being involved in company management while an undischarged bankrupt. "I lost the club because he [Mr Sugar] was greedy and then the England job was affected because people on the international committee got nervous." Mr Venables branded Mr Sugar as "untruthful" and said their relationship went from bad to worse.