Ecclestone challenges $1.5 billion tax demand

Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone (L) speaks to Matteo Bonciani (R), FIA media delegate, as Mohammed Shareeda, Bahrain's circuit chief press officer, looks on during a visit to the media centre at the Bahrain International Circuit during Bahrain's F1 Grand Prix, south of Manama, April 19, 2015. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed

MONACO (Reuters) - Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone has taken legal action against British tax officials after facing a demand for payment of more than 1 billion pounds ($1.57 billion) in relation to a family trust.

The 84-year-old told reporters at the Monaco Grand Prix on Thursday that his lawyers had acted because the revenue and customs body (HMRC) "haven’t respected an agreement they made back in 2008."