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Hague: I was wrong on Ashcroft tax
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William Hague has admitted he was wrong to declare Lord Ashcroft would pay "tens of millions of pounds" more in tax as a result of a deal struck to allow him to take a seat in the Lords.
As Conservative leader in 2000, Mr Hague gave the assurance to then prime minister Tony Blair amid efforts to secure a peerage for the major party donor who had twice been refused, partly because of concerns that he was a tax exile.
Lord Ashcroft revealed earlier this month that, despite becoming a UK resident under the deal, he remained non-domiciled for tax purposes, meaning he does not pay UK tax on his overseas earnings.
Mr Hague, now the shadow foreign secretary and party leader David Cameron's de facto deputy, approved the deal at the time but insisted it had never concerned tax matters. He said became aware at the beginning of this year of Lord Ashcroft's tax status - before Mr Cameron was informed.
Mr Hague said: "The one thing I will concede on this - and which I think in retrospect was a mistake - was to say tens of millions because it may have cost him millions. We don't know, it may cost him millions into the future.
"None of us can know - other than him, I suppose, and the tax authorities - what it has cost. But it was certainly an important change for him to go from being not resident in the UK."
Business Secretary Lord Mandelson said the Tories had been "caught out" over the Ashcroft affair, which had shown that Mr Cameron had "neither the bottle nor the backbone" to stand up to his party's billionaire benefactor.
Lord Mandelson said on Thursday night: "What is very clear now in the whole Ashcroft case is that William Hague, the then Conservative leader, knew then and has known since that he was not fulfilling or honouring the commitment he made to become domiciled in this country, to pay our taxes in this country, which any reasonable person would expect, given the commitment he made when - on the third time of trying - he was made a peer.
"I think that the Conservatives very simply have been caught out by what has emerged today. For them to go all this time hushing things up, sweeping it under the carpet, just because they are not prepared to face up to Lord Ashcroft, you really have to ask yourself what sort of hold does Lord Ashcroft have, not only over William Hague - who he has travelled with extensively internationally in Mr Hague's capacity as shadow foreign secretary - but what sort of hold does he have over David Cameron?
"Why hasn't David Cameron stood up to him, squared up to him and said 'This is unacceptable. You made a commitment and made a promise. You should have honoured it'. Mr Cameron hasn't done that and he hasn't shown either the bottle or the backbone to face up to Lord Ashcroft and I think it shows great weakness on his part."
Reader views (3)
I am in my sixties and I always believed we were living in a democracy, but I will never believe a word that comes out of a politicians mouth. These MPs have been living a different world to the ordinary working people of Britain.Would we be worse off if Hitler had won WW2.
- Mick W, cannock,England, 18/03/2010 21:41
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"It was certainly an important change for him to go from not being resident in the UK ".
Hague's a master at mangling the English language just enough to obfuscate the true facts.
- Jargonaut, South London, 18/03/2010 20:08
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if uddin had the laws changed to accommodate her theft then i'm sure these commitees will find it in their hearts to push this through with the gentlest of admonishments. it really is going to take a most violent act of anger against these robbers before any of them realise the scale of hatred felt by the public by these vile acts against the taxpayer
- Marineville, london, 18/03/2010 19:20
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