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Dragons' Den stars in racism row causes headache for BBC
Chris BlackhurstUpdated 12:19pm on 14 Apr 2010
Bosses at the BBC were today presented with a major headache after Duncan Bannatyne accused fellow Dragons' Den star James Caan of suggesting he is racist.
With the filming of the next series of the hit show due to start in a few days, Caan went on to highlight Bannatyne's criminal past.
The row began with Bannatyne saying Caan enjoyed an unfair advantage because he was a “non-dom” for tax purposes. Speaking to the Evening Standard, private equity multi-millionaire Caan said: “I do no apologise for my country of origin, Pakistan.”
Caan said he could not invest with anyone who had a criminal record - a reference to Bannatyne serving a sentence in military prison when he was a teenager in the Royal Navy.
Bannatyne immediately hit back, telling the Evening Standard that Caan was “playing the race card” and “personalising the whole thing”. With filming of the next series of Dragons' Den beginning next week, Bannatyne went on to Twitter, pointing out that Caan is chairman of the Big Issue which employs sellers with criminal pasts and asking how they could now work with their chief?
The Scottish health clubs entrepreneur dragged the Big Issue founder into the row by asking: “Did John Bird know about [James Caan's] view on ex-prisoners when he gave him the chairman's role?”
So far, the BBC has maintained the line that the Dragons do not have to get on with each other. But while the producers may have been hoping for boosted ratings after Bannatyne went public about Caan's tax staus, the temperature has today been raised to the point that it's difficult to envisage them sitting in the same room without coming to blows.
Bannatyne maintains there was no personal sleight intended when he raised Caan's non-domicile privileges in a newspaper article. Bannatyne said that he had been arguing for some time that the law enabling foreigners to claim they were non-doms needed changing and he merely used the example of Caan, his fellow Dragon, to illustrate the point that while they sat on the same panel and even invested in identical projects, one enjoyed a tax lead over the other.
Caan reacted furiously to Bannatyne's gibe, refusing to shake his hand and firing off a lawyer's letter. Since then, however, rather than dampen down, the dispute has moved up several notches. Another Dragon, Peter Jones, has publicly voiced his willingness to invest with Bannatyne, fuelling suspicions in the Caan camp that Bannatyne is trying to persuade all the panellists to turn on their man and say they won't work with Caan.
Caan's mood has not been helped by the fact that another panellist, Theo Paphitis, is also a non-dom but Bannatyne says today that he has no problem with the Greek-Cypriot tycoon and regards his case as being different from Caan's.
Reader views (14)
James Caan is the best dragon ... Read his statement
"The below statement is in response to the recent press comment, and to the multiple media requests which have been received.
I am proud to be a UK based entrepreneur who has built a number of profitable and successful businesses in this country. I am also proud of the fact that my portfolio of companies currently employs 6,617 people in the UK, including contract and permanent, which in the tax year ended April 2010 contributed £32.5 million to the Exchequer in Government taxes. The £32.5 million consists of: £4.8 million paid in Employers National Insurance; £9.1 million in PAYE/NI; £16.5 million of VAT; and £2.1 million in Corporation Tax.
I would not support anyone that does not work within or abide by the legal tax framework established by the British Government.
I also want to clarify the situation regarding non-doms. Non-doms pay tax on all income earned in the UK, contributing in excess of £4 billion in income tax alone. [1] The recent introduction of the annual non-dom remittance charge has generated around £1.4 billion[2] to the Treasury and a recent estimate shows that the UK revenue achieves a figure in excess of £6 billion[3] from non-domiciles. As a non-dom myself, I pay income tax on earnings, corporation tax on profits, national insurance for my staff, stamp duty on properties, amongst a whole host of other taxes that are applicable to both non-doms and British .. run out of allowed words - see website
- NA, LONDON, 20/04/2010 22:16
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Caan is conniving, he set up a deal with the big issue so that he can set up charity schemes using government funding for Pakistan. The things he does in Uk is a shame to all businessmen it dose not stop there, he uses interns for up to 6 months at a time to work (which he charges companies for) for his famous Hamilton Bradshaw company and boasts about how he employs graduates because they have it hard in the recession.
Sweet Deals the man plays the racist trick all the time. Oh come on this is a guy who changed his name got himself speech classes so he does not sound like he is from Pakistan. Charity starts here
- Anne, London, 16/04/2010 00:26
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How exactly is Bannatyne being racist, he stated a fact, Caan is a Non-Dom.
I would suggest Caan is the racist by playing the race card.
- Susan, London, 14/04/2010 18:46
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This is a ridiculous crock - Bannatyne was clearly the one way out of line and HE is the one who personalised an issue by naming Caan, in specific, in order to illustrate a point that he claims was general.
Bannatyne now trying to frame that otherwise suggest that he is either some kind of a clown, who struggles to recall what he said 5 minutes previously and which hand is Left from Right; or he was actually being deliberately provocative at the time and is now being horribly and transparently disingenuous.
Bannatyne should have just apologised for naming Caan - but I'll bet he won't; as this smacks more of deliberate, methodical, back-stage politics and manoeuvering, rather than anything else.
Of course Caan took it personally - he was given no choice but so to do! And, although biting his tongue is probably what he should have done, it would have been almost impossible after such a public and pointed back-hand and he was doomed to the defensive from there on in.
The tragedy is that the nature of the response Caan elected to make has only played this more into Bannatyne's control than it was already always going to be - because, if any "cards" were just itching to be played, surely it was Bannatyne's immediate follow-up regarding Caan's Chairmanship, which little tid-bit seems to have been a bit too readily at hand to be true...
It's just a Masterclass. In Nastiness.
- JW Pepper., London, England., 14/04/2010 18:11
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Interesting bit of info about the Big Issue: I was wondering why many of the sellers seem to have been imported especially. Mad or what?
...Only in easy-touch England!
- Croyboy, Croydon, UK, 14/04/2010 17:45
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Come on Guys,calling each other names won't make you professionals and won't motivate some of us who look at you as business' models. Please shake your hands and look forward, after all money does not know colour nor nationality.
- DOM, LONDON, 14/04/2010 17:14
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Spat worthy of X Factor's Louis and Simon. Should increaseviewing figures. Both men are right in a way. But nothing to do with racism.
- dhan raj, basildon, 14/04/2010 17:04
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Why is the BBC employing a non-dom with British tax payers money?
- Frank, Home Counties, England., 14/04/2010 15:16
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It's 'slight', not 'sleight'
- Tom, London, 14/04/2010 14:07
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For heaven's sake guys, grow up. And Caan, don't lose your self respect over Bannatyne, he's not worth it.
- Peter, London, 14/04/2010 13:51
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I didn't realise Pakistan-born Caan was now Chairman of the 'Big Issue', although maybe that goes some way to explaining why all the Big Issue sellers I ever see nowadays are Asian. Sorry, but charity begins at home. I won't give them a penny anymore.
- David Moon, East Sussex, 14/04/2010 13:41
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Ha ha “Ooooh they're having a domestic”
- neil, london, 14/04/2010 12:35
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I find it normal for a teenager to get into trouble at some time; after all they are teenagers, and learning to adjust from schooldays into the real world etc; I know I was often in trouble, as indeed some of my kids had been as teenagers etc.
I also think its better to have a little rebelliousness in you, than to be a tame sheep.
Tax dodgers of all kinds, on the other hand; are mostly mature adults that should have learned better than just to be greedy, deceitful, and selfish etc.
Give me the sailor in the glasshouse, over the businessman in a tax haven every-time.
- mickinlondon, london, 14/04/2010 12:21
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Ooooh they're having a domestic. Now now boys I never took you serious anyway.
- Frederick, London, 14/04/2010 12:10
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