Former premier Thaksin Shinawatra's bid to take over Manchester City Football Club sparked a heated debate in the House of Commons, during which an MP described the former Thai premier as "unsavoury".

Labour Party MP David Taylor, using parliamentary privilege, made the remark during a debate on Monday night, the Daily Telegraph reported.

Taylor told UK Sports Minister Richard Caborn that the issue of foreign takeovers needed urgent attention. He made a specific reference to Thaksin among "flaky foreign financiers", according to the Sportinglife.com website.

"Will you say what protections, for instance, the Manchester City supporters have against the attentions of the unsavoury Thaksin Shinawatra? Or is it forever the fate of football fans to be fleeced by flaky foreign financiers?" the MP was quoted as asking.

Thaksin has been charged with corruption and his family's bank accounts frozen. But the ex-PM claims graft allegations levelled at him are politically motivated by the junta that overthrew him.

Caborn told Taylor that he wanted to prevent the Premier League from becoming "a billionaire's playground".

The sports minister said: "I think the commercialisation, indeed foreign investment, has actually helped the Premier League. But I think we have got to make sure the Premier League does not turn into a billionaires' playground. We have got to make sure that the grass roots, the communities from which those clubs came, indeed, are respected."

At a press conference in Bangkok yesterday, Thaksin's lawyer Noppadon Pattama, said Manchester City FC chiefs had advised him and the former PM not to comment publicly about the deal for three weeks - until Thaksin passes the Football Association's "fit and proper person test". FA chief Brian Barwick is expected to meet Thaksin after he completes his takeover. Thaksin will have to explain his plans for the club and be warned about his responsibilities to the game.