Ryanair's O'Leary fuming at health rumours

Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary has furiously rejected claims that he is seriously ill.

He blasted fictitious internet rumours that he is suffering from pancreatic cancer and has only weeks to live.

He called the claims "a complete and utter load of b*******."

Earlier this year, Mr O'Leary said his leaner look was in keeping with with recessionary times and insisted that previously he was "about a stone overweight."

The budget airline chief was again the target of weekend rumours on websites and mobile phones that he was suffering from pancreatic cancer.

The fresh rumours claimed he had been given a terminal prognosis -- and that was the reason for his much commented on loss of weight.

It prompted O'Leary to blast the rumour mongers.

"Ryanair has a long standing policy of never commenting on rumour or speculation," a Ryanair spokesperson told one newspaper.

"However, in this case, Michael decided to make an exception."

In March, Mr O'Leary whose wife Anita is expecting their third child, dismissed concerns over his dramatic weight loss by insisting there was nothing wrong with him.

Pictures of him beneath a trilby hat at the Cheltenham races showed he had shed many pounds. "I'm in blooming health," he declared at the racing festival.

"Only the good die young, so in that case, I'm going to live to a ripe old age," he said.

He first sparked concerns about his health a few months ago after he was snapped looking far slimmer at the start of the new year.

But he insisted he was "getting fat, dumb and happy" during the good times.

"Now there's a leaner, more caring me for these recessionary times," he said in January.

Taken from the Belfast Telegraph