Only Lord Ashcroft?

The BBC are in full attack the Tories mode at present and this piece is typical. It's entitled "Tax attack on Tory peer Ashcroft" and reports

"The Lib Dems have said new laws should be brought in immediately to remove MPs and peers who do not pay tax in the UK from Parliament.

Mr Cable, standing in for Nick Clegg at prime minister's questions, accused Tory peer Lord Ashcroft of not paying tax in the UK on overseas earnings.

The Conservatives have said they will pass a law requiring all MPs and peers to pay tax in the UK if elected.

For Labour, Harriet Harman said peers and MPs must "set an example" on tax.

When he was made a Conservative peer in 2000, Lord Ashcroft gave an undertaking that he would pay taxes in the UK but has since refused to comment on his tax status, insisting it was a private matter.

As well as being deputy chairman of the party, Lord Ashcroft is one of the Conservatives' largest donors. "

The entire piece is about Lord Ashcroft's tax affairs, so I assume he is the only 'non-dom' politician in the House of Lords? Hold on though, didn't I read recently about Lord Paul, the major Labour donor who has just been made a Privy Councillor, isn't he a 'non-dom'? Lord Paul in case the BBC have never heard of him has many links to Gordon Brown and the Labour Party, here are a few:

" * Lord Paul’s Caparo gave £45,000 to Brown’s Leadership campaign
* Caparo Industries, a company in the Caparo Group chaired by Lord Paul, gave donations of £25,000 and £20,000 to Gordon Brown’s leadership campaign (Electoral Commission).
* Pledged to bankroll Labour’s election campaign
* In August 2007, Lord Paul said to Channel 4 News: ‘all I know is that if there is an election and the money is wanted, whatever I can pay, I will pay...I am a believer in Gordon Brown and his leadership.’
* When he was asked how much he would be ready to give Labour, he said: ‘As much as I can afford.’ (Lord Paul, reported in The Daily Mail, 22 August 2007)

According to The Sunday Times, ‘other top donors non-domiciled for tax purposes include Lord Paul of Marylebone whose companies have given £400,000 to Labour and who has been appointed Blair's unofficial envoy to the Indian subcontinent’ (Sunday Times, 24 February 2002).

According to The Mail on Sunday, Lord Paul funded Gordon Brown’s private office in opposition: ‘Lord Paul, whose fortune is estimated at £450million, funded Mr Brown's private office in opposition and has pledged to “give whatever he can afford” to help ensure Labour is re-elected.’ (Mail on Sunday, 9 September 2007)

A news story on the Caparo Website reveals that Sarah Brown presented Angad Paul, Lord Paul’s son, with a prize in September 2007:

‘Angad Paul, Caparo Group chief executive officer has received the GG2 Leadership and Diversity award for Entrepreneur of the Year in recognition of his dynamic role in the expansion of the group. ‘Sarah Brown, wife of British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, presented the award to Angad, in a ceremony attended by over 800 dignitaries at the prestigious Grosvenor House Hotel in London on September 10th.’

(Caparo Website, 11 September 2007;)


* Lord Paul bought 6,000 copies of Gordon Brown’s book Courage to distribute to secondary schools (The Times, 25 August 2007).
* Caparo Group donated £15,700 to Keith Vaz between 1993 and 1997. However, Vaz failed to declare one of these payments which totalled £3,000 (The Daily Telegraph, 22 April 2001; )"

Maybe the BBC would like to consider some other Labour supporting 'non-doms' whilst they are looking into Lord Paul - Sir Ghulam Noon, Lakshmi Mittal, Sir Ronald Cohen,
Ron Sandler. In the meantime, here's a written question and answer from Hansard 02.12.09:

"Mr. Graham Stuart: To ask the Prime Minister whether (a) he and his predecessor and (b) officials in the Prime Minister's Office have had meetings with Angad Paul in each of the last three years. [303112]

The Prime Minister: My officials and I have meetings with a wide range of organisations and individuals on a range of subjects."