As a multimillionaire peer of the realm, serial entrepreneur and star of BBC1's The Apprentice, you might think Lord Sugar was too busy to pursue spats on Twitter. Think again.

"Britain's most belligerent boss" (© The Apprentice) proved that his tweets can be as acerbic as his putdowns in the boardroom – if not always quite as funny – in a remarkable series of online feuds with former Daily Mirror editor Piers Morgan and BBC Radio 2 DJ Chris Evans.

First he accepted a £5,000 bet from Morgan – with all proceeds going to Great Ormond Street children's hospital – over who would have more Twitter followers by Christmas. Then he swapped insults with Evans over who would sell the most books.

Sugar branded Morgan a "monkey", a "pathetic grovler" (sic), a "saddo" and a "DBT – a double barrel tosser" and said he gave him his "first TV break" on a celebrity version of The Apprentice.

"I'm ordinary bloke from Hackney been in real world for 63 years. Unlike Piers who was born with a silver spoon in mouth," tweeted Sugar.

And in a reference to the circumstances surrounding Morgan's departure from the Mirror, Sugar said: "Dont be suprised Piers has arrived to twitter, he feels he owns it now, expect home page pic to be fake Simon Cowell pis[sing] on Louis Walsh." Well, we did say he was funnier on The Apprentice.

Morgan gave as good as he got, labelling Sugar a "disingenuous old growler" who had "anger management issues", tweeting: "Always time for the little people. Especially Lord Sugar."

"You've managed 182k followers in five months, I've got 67k in one week," said Morgan. "You doing the same flow chart I am?"

Evans appeared to provoke Sugar's ire when he said the second volume of his autobiography was "breathing down the neck" of The Apprentice star's own memoirs in the bestseller lists.

"U only got there as my readers could not get to the shops due to snow. Your readers work in the shops," was Sugar's cryptic retort, referring to Evans as "the one with hair that used to be ginger".

"Is Lord Sugar saying that no one who works in a shop should read his book? What a bizarre message for a retail entrepreneur!" replied Evans. "Is this Lord Sugar's Ratner moment?"

Sugar retorted: "You are mixing me up sunshine never been in retail in my life. Hope facts in your book more accurate," before suggesting: "I am worried u might take my role in the Apprentice. New format 16 people battle it out to find Britain's biggest boozer."

He added: "OMG the moral stance from someone who pinches fellow BBC colleagues jobs poor Wogan and Chiles. Pot-kettle."

Evans tweeted "Haha. You've finally lost the plot! Glad I was here to witness it. Terry Venables sends his regards" and accused Sugar of "Trying to squirm out of his tasteless remark disparaging the nations shop workers yesterday".

The DJ added: "I'm out of the Lord Sugar nonsense. His joke valve has gone haywire. Normal service resumed. Merry Christmas to one and all. Ho ho ho."