Blairs avoided £312,000 in stamp duty

Former British Prime minister Tony Blair and his wife Cherie did not pay £312,000 in stamp duty on their purchase of a £6.75 million London office building, leaked documents have revealed.

Offshore company files, dubbed the “Pandora Papers”, have been investigated by an international journalist consortium and have exposed the financial relationships of 35 current and former global leaders.

The Blairs issued a statement yesterday in which they denied any attempt to avoid paying tax.

The documents show that the Blairs took ownership of the property by purchasing the offshore company that owned it, and were thus not required to pay stamp duty.

In his first speech as Labour leader in 1994, Mr Blair criticised “millionaires with the right accountants [who] pay nothing” in tax, and promised to “create a tax system that is fair, which is related to ability to pay”.