Joey Barton berates 'tax exile' and 'poor role model' Lewis Hamilton over Sports Personality of the Year 2014 win

It would seem that hell hath no fury like a QPR player scorned

Joey Barton is somewhat displeased that Lewis Hamilton received the Sports Personality of the Year award yesterday.

In fact the QPR player decided it was an opportune moment to brand Hamilton a “tax exile” and bemoaned the fact he brought his dog, Roscoe, along to the awards ceremony in Glasgow.

He also said the F1 champion was a “poor role model”, presumably due to tax affairs, rather than his choice of guest.

However, Hamilton, worth an estimated £68 million, said yesterday that he does pay taxes in the UK.

Golfer Rory McIlroy came second and long-distance runner Jo Pavey third.

Hamilton faced a backlash over his financial affairs in 2007 when he moved to tax haven Monaco.

“What people don’t realise is that I pay tax here, but I don’t earn all my money here,” he told Sunday Times Style. “I race in 19 different countries, so I earn my money in 20 different places and I pay tax in several different places, and I pay a lot here as well.

“I am contributing to the country and, not only that, I help to keep a team of more than 1,000 people employed.”

Barton, who is known for his lively Twitter contributions, last week reacted to a death threat by calmly correcting the cyber troll’s grammatical errors.