Meanwhile, from the corrupt world of insurance it has been revealed by the Channel 4 Dispatches programme that Phil Hodkinson, a director of insurance firm Resolution, based in the tax-haven of Guernsey for income and corporation tax avoidance, is also the head of the ethics committee at HM Revenue and Customs.

Another former HMRC director, John Spence is the chairman of estate agent and financial services group Spicer Hart, whose employees offer to help clients avoid stamp duty. And HMRC have recently awarded a contract for collecting unpaid tax to a credit management firm whose owners are based in Guernsey.