Treasury project goes offshore to avoid tax

More than 50 private finance initiative projects worth billions of pounds and including the refurbishment of the Treasury headquarters in Whitehall and the building of the new Home Office have been moved offshore to avoid taxes (Hannah Fletcher writes).

The PFI schemes are contained in portfolios held in the Channel Islands by the City companies HSBC Infrastructure, 3i Infrastructure and Babcock and Brown Public Partnerships. Under the new arrangement, up to 90 per cent of the ownership of the UK-based company running the PFI is transferred to the companies based in the Channel Islands tax havens. The income and profits from the PFIs are then exempt from British tax for up to 40 years. Prem Sikka, a professor of accounting at Essex University, said the Commons Treasury committee should investigate the contracts’ handling. “The Government should put clauses into PFI contracts preventing them being transferred offshore for a set period. The only reason to move to the Channel Islands is to avoid taxes or to take advantage of less transparent auditing. The taxpayer is losing out.”

Clegg resists appeal over EU referendum

The Conservatives called on Nick Clegg to help them defeat the Government over a referendum on the European reform treaty, as the Liberal Democrat leader tried to paper over divisions within his own party (Philip Webster and Sam Coates write).

With a critical Commons vote on tomorrow, William Hague, the Shadow Foreign Secretary, said that a referendum could still be won if the Lib Dems “could summon up the courage to stick to their election manifesto promise”. Their position was pivotal, he added.

Mr Clegg, who is facing an internal revolt over his refusal to back a referendum, is telling his MPs to abstain while trying to get a straight vote on Britain’s membership of the EU.

Copyright U-turn

The Government has indicated that it will support a policy change that will allow pop stars to earn more money from their recordings. Andy Burnham, the Culture Secretary, said that the Government would revisit its opposition to extending the copyright term on sound recordings from 50 to 95 years.

Caution for forgery

An official working for Shaun Woodward, the Northern Ireland Secretary, has been given a police caution for forging the signature of a council candidate. Barrie Grunewald, 30, signed a form for Stuart Hughes during the 2006 local elections. The case was due to be tried, but the prosecution offered no evidence.

Murder conviction

Jordon Jobson, 15, who stabbed a young mother to death while under the influence of drugs and alcohol, was convicted of murder by Newcastle Crown Court. Jobson, of Newcastle, attacked Samantha Madgin, 18, on August 2, 2007. She will be detained at Her Majesty’s Pleasure, with sentencing details to be decided.

Snowboarder dies

A snowboarder has died after falling 24m (80ft) down a crevasse on the Vallée Blanche, above Chamonix in the Alps. The 32-year-old man, from Leeds, and friends had had hired an Austrian mountain guide for the day. It is believed that he was trying to cross a snow bridge when it collapsed.

Tsunami chaos let sex attacker stay free

A sex attacker who fled to Thailand was due to be arrested on the day the country was hit by the tsunami of December 2004, a court was told yesterday.

In the chaos that followed the disaster the arrest warrant for Sean McMahon was forgotten. In 2006 his passport was renewed by the British Embassy in Bangkok because updates from the Police National Computer were not passed on.

McMahon, 46, from Kenton, Devon, evaded capture from 1999 until 2007 before he was extradited to Britain over the alleged rape of a girl aged 8. Yesterday he pleaded guilty to charges including attempted rape. Exeter Crown Court was told that after consulting the victim, the Crown had not pursued the rape charge because he had admitted attempted rape.

ID cards assessment

A fight to keep secret details of two early assessments of the Government’s ID cards scheme began in the High Court. The Office of Government Commerce said that failing to keep the reviews confidential could damage the system of assessing the cost and feasibility of government schemes. Requests had been made to see details of the reviews under the Freedom of Information Act.

Singer’s drive ban

Brian Harvey, who was in the 1990s boyband East 17, was given a six-month ban after driving at up to 138mph. Harvey, 33, was also fined £150 and ordered to pay court costs of £240 after being caught on the M4. After the hearing at Chippenham Magistrates’ Court he had to ask reporters for help to push-start his car, as the battery had gone flat and which was being driven by a friend.

Blaze at Royal Mint

Staff were evacuated and local residents told to stay indoors to avoid fumes from chemicals when a large fire broke out at the Royal Mint in South Wales. The blaze at the coin-making site in Llantrisant, Mid Glamorgan, was put out within a few hours and environmental health officers said last night that there was no longer a danger to the public. The cause was being investigated by the Ministry of Defence.

Murder conviction

Jordon Jobson, 15, who stabbed a young mother to death while under the influence of drugs and alcohol, was convicted of murder by Newcastle Crown Court. Jobson, of Newcastle upon Tyne, attacked Samantha Madgin, 18, on August 2, 2007. Ms Madgin was enjoying her first night out since the birth of her son Callum. Jobson will be detained at Her Majesty’s Pleasure, with sentencing details to be decided.

Detective shortage

Serious offenders could be getting away with their crimes because of a shortage of experienced detectives, a report by the Police Federation claimed. The study, Losing the Detectives: View from the Frontline, said that as more detectives are assigned to specialist units, including counter-terrorism, less experienced detectives are being left to deal with complex and serious cases.

‘Take DNA at birth’

Genetic samples should be taken from everyone at birth, according to a former police chief who helped establish the national DNA police database. Don Dovaston, the former Deputy Chief Constable of Derbyshire, said the benefits of such a scheme would outweigh any arguments about infringing human rights. Mr Dovaston’s force conducted trials for the first DNA database a decade ago.

Times man honoured

The Times columnist Daniel Finkelstein has won the Bermant Prize. He is the first recipient of this new prize, awarded for outstanding achievement in journalism by the Jewish Book Council and The Jewish Chronicle.

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