Tories under pressure to confirm Ashcroft tax status

Cameron urged to clarift Ashcroft status

Monday, 11, Feb 2008 12:00

There is growing pressure on Conservative deputy chairman Lord Ashcroft to clarify his tax position.

The Tory peer has long refused to confirm whether he is domiciled for tax in the UK but now faces exclusion from the House of Lords unless he can prove his status as a British tax payer.

Lord Strathclyde, leader of the Conservatives in the House of Lords, said the party was prepared to back a bill by Liberal Democrat Lord Oakeshott which would bar peers who are resident abroad for tax purposes.

Under the terms of the bill, peers would have to show HM Revenue and Customs they are domiciled in the UK.

Lord Ashcroft, whose multi-billion pound business is based in Belize, had his original nomination for a peerage turned down in part because of his tax exile status.

On entering the House of Lords in 2000, then-Tory leader William Hague said he would begin paying tax in the UK but his office have long insisted this is a private matter.

Labour today urged David Cameron to clarify the peer's position, arguing it is "no longer tenable" for the Tory leader to "duck and deflect questions" on Lord Ashcroft.

The peer has long been a source of controversy, with Labour complaining he holds undue power within the Tory party.

He openly bankrolls candidates, claiming his donations are intended to counter the "communications allowance" enjoyed by sitting MPs – but allegedly used for party political campaigning.

The Conservatives insist his donations are legal and Labour has been unable to prove otherwise.

Calling for clarification of his position yesterday, Labour chief whip Geoff Hoon asked Mr Cameron to confirm if Lord Ashcroft was on the electoral register.