CELTIC have hit back at a supporters' leader who defended the singing of IRA songs at matches.

The club said views expressed by Jeanette Findlay, chairwoman of the Celtic Trust, were "totally unrepresentative" of the team's supporters.

As reported in later editions of yesterday's Evening Times, the row erupted after Dr Findlay spoke on Radio 5 yesterday morning.

She was questioned by host Nicky Campbell over the trust's opposition to the appointment of former Home Secretary John Reid as Celtic chairman because of his Cabinet role over the war in Iraq.

Mr Campbell said people who had relatives murdered by the IRA might find songs about the organisation as offensive as Dr Findlay found Dr Reid's appointment.

Dr Findlay said IRA chants had a historical basis and were not "pro-terrorist songs".

But a spokesman for Celtic said: "These comments are totally unrepresentative of our support.

"There are around 27,500 Celtic shareholders and we believe Ms Findlay claims to speak for only around 200 of these - a very, very small minority - as the AGM's 99.1% vote in favour of Dr Reid's appointment as chairman clearly underlines.

"We are sure, given the nature of her comments, she is presenting her own opinion and not that of the Celtic Trust.

"We are delighted with the way our fans support the team."

During the interview, fans bombarded the show with messages distancing themselves from Dr Findlay's comments.

The Celtic Trust is a supporters' trust and was established to represent the interests of small shareholders and supporters at Celtic.

Dr Findlay's comments were made on the same day the latest football anti-bigotry initiative was launched at Hampden.

First Minister Alex Salmond teamed up with the 12 SPL clubs to launch Kick-Out Bigotry, which aims to tackle the issue.

A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: "These repugnant views have no place in a modern, forward-thinking Scotland."