British Gas Bonus Claims To Be Investigated

Claims that British Gas workers have been paid large bonuses to inflate customer bills are to be investigated by the energy regulator, Ofgem.

It comes after a former employee claimed the energy company encouraged its sales staff to sign up charities, churches and small businesses to its highest-priced tariffs in order to boost their own earnings.

British Gas has strongly denied the allegations.

The whistleblower, who worked for the company between 2010 and 2013, told the Daily Mail the firm's policies were designed "to rip off" customers.

He claimed sales agent typically earned between £4 and £37 in commission per deal if they persuaded existing customers to renew contracts.

But by moving a customer to a more expensive deal they could earn more than £400 a time, he alleged.

"People were desperate to make the salaries they had been promised, so everyone inflated the prices," he told the paper.

"Scout clubs was a favourite one; churches, charities, small businesses, where people would just go for the maximum 5p notch-up," he added.

Ofgem will investigate whether the sales activities were 'honest and fair'

A British Gas spokeswoman said: "British Gas strongly refutes any suggestion that employees are paid commission on any prices charged to residential customers."

British Gas Business managing director Stephen Beynon said his sales agents are paid commission, but he denied any suggestion that contracts were negotiated inappropriately.

"This is a highly regulated market, and every part of the sales negotiation process is closely monitored," he said.

"Sales agents in British Gas Business do receive commission, but we are reducing its importance.

"We're leading the way in addressing the variability in price that customers face in this market, and we'll continue to do so."

Ofgem said in a statement: "There are strict rules in place which require suppliers to take all reasonable steps to ensure information provided is accurate and not misleading, and that sales activities are conducted in a fair, honest, transparent and professional manner.

"Ofgem is an evidenced-based regulator and we would encourage anyone with information that an energy company is not complying with Ofgem rules to provide us with this."

The allegations come days after Ofgem fined British Gas Business for a series of failures including blocking firms from switching to other suppliers.

Ofgem said British Gas Business would pay a total penalty of £5.6m of which £800,000 would be in fines, on top of £1.3m already paid to 1,200 customers who paid higher bills because they were not notified when their contracts were due to expire.

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Co-op Admits 'Disastrous Year' Amid £2.5bn Loss

The embattled Co-operative Group has confirmed a loss of £2.5bn for 2013, in what it described as a "disastrous year".

The loss comes on the back of a £529m figure recorded in its 2012 results.

Interim group chief executive Richard Pennycook said: "2013 was a disastrous year for the Co-operative Group, the worst in our 150-year history.

"Today's results demonstrate that but they also highlight fundamental failings in management and governance at the group over many years.

"These results should serve as a wake-up call to anyone who doubts just how serious the challenges we face are."

It said most of the losses were from "discontinued operations" of its banking arm, which totaled £2.1bn.

Group sales were £10.5bn, down from the £11bn recorded in the previous year.

Profit from its food division were down 8% at £247m but it also recorded a goodwill impairment charge of £226m for its purchase of Somerfield stores.

The Co-operative Group consists of a number of divisions

However, it recorded more encouraging figures for some other divisions.

General insurance profit jumped from £13m in 2012 to £33m last year.

The pharmacy chain, which is being offered for sale, saw profit rise by about a fifth to £33m.

And its funeral services business saw sales up 3% to £370m and profit up £2m to £62m.

Co-operative Group chair Ursula Lidbetter said: "During 2013, it became apparent that our governance had fallen far short of the standards to which we aspire as a co-operative society.

"Now is the time to put that right through fundamental reform - we have to act with urgency if we are to lay the foundations for a stronger, healthier co-operative business in the future."

The group's bank division revealed a £1.5bn capital black hole last year and then in March announced a plan to raise another £400m.

Amid risks of the bank's collapse, the group reduced its stake in the institution to 30% as private equity bondholders provided capital - raising concerns of how it would maintain its 'ethical' stance.

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House Price Increases Create 'Generation Rent'

By Siobhan Robbins, Sky News Reporter

The booming housing market is causing a generation of young people to become inreasingly pessimistic about their chances of getting on the property ladder, according to a new study.

Halifax's 'Generation Rent' report found that despite the launch of schemes like Help to Buy to give a boost to people with small deposits, 36% of 20 to 45-year-olds felt they have no realistic prospect of owning their home in the next five years.

Around half of those polled in England, Scotland and Wales agreed Britain will become a nation of renters in the next generation and 20% of people aged 23 to 27 said they have no desire to own their own home.

A fifth of people surveyed said they had no desire to own their own home

Caroline Hill, 23, told Sky News she would rather rent than buy.

"I can see myself being able to buy in the future but I'm just really not interested in doing so," he said.

"My parents have always been renters and I think that has had a big effect on the way I feel about it."

Danny Palmer, 27, is frustrated the market is running away from him.

"I think it's going to be really difficult for me to get onto the property ladder purely because rent these days is taking up about 40% of my salary, and that's before bills, living costs and anything else," he said.

Estate agents say high prices mean potential buyers are moving into rentals

Halifax mortgages director Craig McKinlay, said: "We may be heading towards the point where the aspiration to own a nice home will be replaced by the aspiration to simply live in one.

"It seems that people are now beginning to accept a lifetime of renting and this would not only change the way the property ladder looks in the future, it could even bring into question whether or not it will exist at all for some people."

The report warned that any future collapse in the number of first-time buyers - the "life blood" of the housing market - will have a knock-on impact on people trying to move up the property ladder.

If some existing home owners are unable to trade up because of a lack of potential buyers for their property, the market will be brought to a standstill, the report warns.

Woking estate agent Yassar Latif, said: "People who were thinking of buying, but have been let down by the rise in prices, have moved towards rentals now."

The Government has said that Help to Buy and plans to build more houses should ease the problem. But despite this, only around 30% of the people polled believed Help to Buy was working.

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Co-op Admits 'Disastrous Year' Amid £2.5bn Loss

The embattled Co-operative Group has confirmed a loss of £2.5bn for 2013, in what it described as a "disastrous year".

The loss comes on the back of a £529m figure recorded in its 2012 results.

Interim group chief executive Richard Pennycook said: "2013 was a disastrous year for the Co-operative Group, the worst in our 150-year history.

"Today's results demonstrate that but they also highlight fundamental failings in management and governance at the group over many years.

"These results should serve as a wake-up call to anyone who doubts just how serious the challenges we face are."

It said most of the losses were from "discontinued operations" of its banking arm, which totaled £2.1bn.

Group sales were £10.5bn, down from the £11bn recorded in the previous year.

Profit from its food division were down 8% at £247m but it also recorded a goodwill impairment charge of £226m for its purchase of Somerfield stores.

The Co-operative Group consists of a number of divisions

However, it recorded more encouraging figures for some other divisions.

General insurance profit jumped from £13m in 2012 to £33m last year.

The pharmacy chain, which is being offered for sale, saw profit rise by about a fifth to £33m.

And its funeral services business saw sales up 3% to £370m and profit up £2m to £62m.

Co-operative Group chair Ursula Lidbetter said: "During 2013, it became apparent that our governance had fallen far short of the standards to which we aspire as a co-operative society.

"Now is the time to put that right through fundamental reform - we have to act with urgency if we are to lay the foundations for a stronger, healthier co-operative business in the future."

The group's bank division revealed a £1.5bn capital black hole last year and then in March announced a plan to raise another £400m.

Amid risks of the bank's collapse, the group reduced its stake in the institution to 30% as private equity bondholders provided capital - raising concerns of how it would maintain its 'ethical' stance.

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Official: Average Earnings Outpace Inflation

Average UK earnings increased by 1.7% in the year to February, above the inflation rate of 1.6%, according to official figures.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said it was the first time since spring 2010 that the consumer price index for inflation had not exceeded pay increases.

It said pay increases averaged 2% in the private sector and 0.9% in the public sector.

It added the number of people out of work in the UK fell by 77,000 between December and February.

The unemployment rate of 6.9% is the lowest for five years.

Business Secretary Vince Cable said: "Throughout the economic crisis, and now in the recovery, our labour market has shown itself to be resilient and flexible.

"These latest employment figures show that conditions are continuing to improve rapidly."

The improving statistics have eroded Labour's stance on the economic policies at the heart of the coalition Government.

Sky News Economics Editor Ed Conway said: "There are likely to be quibbles with the data and the timing, and many of them are perfectly legitimate.

"What's less in doubt is that wages and inflation are converging meaningfully for the first time since 2010.

"That implies the squeeze on incomes is in the process of coming to an end."

He added: "By the same token, families have had to withstand a whole five-year period of falling real wages, so in real terms they remain significantly less well-off than they were before the crisis.

"That damage will take some years to mend."

The ONS said the total jobless in the period stood at 2.24 million, with a record 30.3 million people in work.

A total of 691,000 people have gained employment in the last year, taking the rate to 72.6%.

It added the number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance last month fell by 30,400 to 1.14 million.

Meanwhile, the number of people in Britain defined as economically inactive, including those caring for relatives or withdrawn from the job market, fell by 86,000 in the latest quarter to 8.8 million.

Those out of work for more than 12 months was also cut by 32,000, down to 807,000.

The jobless figure for 16 to 24-year-olds has also continued to fall, down by 38,000 to 881,000 - the lowest for five years.

The ONS said 1.42 million people are working part-time on the basis of not being able to find full-time employment.

It was a drop of 17,000 over the three months, although still 10,000 higher than the same time last year.

Esther McVey, the minister for employment, told Sky News: "More young people are in work, more women are in work, wages are going up and more and more businesses are hiring.

"It's a credit to them that Britain is working again."

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Co-op To Unveil £2.5bn Losses As Crisis Deepens

By Mike McCarthy, Sky News Correspondent

The Co-operative Group is set to announce losses of up to £2.5bn after a series of "catastrophically inept decisions".

It is coming under increasing pressure to reform as it faces the biggest crisis in its history.

Former city minister Lord Myners, who was brought in help push through reform, has accused managers of making catastrophically inept decisions.

However he is is set to step down amid internal resistance to his plans.

One Co-operative insider told Sky News he was in doubt where responsibility lay for the group's latest ills.

Jim Lee, an active member for 25 years, said:  "The blame lies ultimately with the board.

"Clearly we have to look again at how that board came to be put together.

"Clearly we have to look at the personnel on that board and clearly we have to change those things in the future."

Elections to the board are based on a complex three-tier structure with area committees and regional boards.

Critics say it is an outdated system which is ill-equipped to function in a globalised 21st century business environment.

There has been no evidence so far of Co-operative customers switching to other brands, but the series of crises do seem to be affecting confidence.

Outside one Co-op bank in the Lancashire town of Rochdale, where it was founded in the mid-19th century, customers told Sky News they were growing concerned.

One woman said:  "I've always been a Co-op member. My mother was and my grandma was and we've always dealt with the Co-op."

But asked if she would consider banking elsewhere, she said:  "Well we've got money in other places but it just depends how it goes.  I'll be watching - let's put it that way."

Financial analyst Brenda Kelly said apparent differences at the top of the Co-operative Group were hampering the chances of recovery.

"To reform the Co-op will take time, but ultimately having agreement within Co-op itself will help shareholders get some confidence that they might get back on the front foot."

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Imperial Tobacco To Close Nottingham Factory

Up to 900 jobs are to be lost under plans by Imperial Tobacco to close factories in Nottingham and Nantes in France.

The company said it wanted to shut both its production plant and distribution centre in Nottingham, which together employ around 540 people - almost a third of its UK workforce.

The move would represent an end to cigarette production in the UK.

Its statement blamed "declining industry volumes in Europe, impacted by tough economic conditions, increasing regulation and excise and growth in illicit trade".

Imperial, whose brands include Golden Virginia and Lambert & Butler, said the Nottingham factory has capacity to make 36 billion cigarettes a year but will only produce 17 billion in 2014.

It said production would be moved to other European factories and distribution outsourced.

The Nantes plant, which employs 320 staff, would suffer the same fate while its research facility at Bergerac was also under threat.

The company said it was working on the proposals with unions.

Chief executive Alison Cooper said: "These projects are an essential part of securing the sustainable future of the business.

"The prospect of job losses is always regrettable and we will be doing all we can to support employees and ensure that they are treated in a fair and responsible manner."

The company, which has 46 manufacturing sites worldwide, closed a cigar factory in Bristol in 2010.

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House Price Concern As Wider Inflation Eases

There has been more good news for household budgets with confirmation that price growth eased further in March though property costs accelerated.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) charted a fall in the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) measure of inflation to an annual rate of 1.6% - down from 1.7% in the previous month - which marked a new four-year low.

This was driven, the ONS said, by falling pressures from fuel costs.

Petrol prices were unchanged between February and March

Furniture and clothing also made downward contributions - with discounting in women's fashion leading the way.

Upward contributions to inflation came from factors including higher bills for overnight hotel stays and more expensive alcoholic spirits.

The figures raised hopes that a milestone in the UK's economic recovery could be reached as early as Wednesday, when the ONS releases the latest unemployment and wage statistics.

Many economists believe they will show pay packets rising at a faster level than inflation.

George Osborne has welcomed easing inflation figures

Earnings have not increased at a higher rate than inflation since a brief spike in March and April 2010 and have not consistently been improving since 2008.

However, separate ONS figures on Tuesday pointed to a steep rise in annual house price inflation of 9.1% over the 12 months to February.

It represented the biggest increase since June 2010 and was up sharply on the 6.8% rise measured in January as London's rapid price growth started to be mirrored outside the capital.

The performance renewed fears the UK housing market is at risk of overheating though policymakers have repeatedly pledged to remain vigilant.

The housing charity Shelter said: "Today's figures are yet more evidence that house prices are spiralling out of control.

"Apart from the lucky few who can rely on the bank of mum and dad, our runaway housing market is forcing a generation to watch a home of their own become an increasingly distant dream, no matter how hard they work or save."

European economist at Schroders, Azad Zangana, told Sky News he expected the Bank of England to intervene on house price inflation in the summer.

The TUC leader Frances O'Grady says a cost of living crisis remains

The wider inflation numbers - which strip out housing costs - were welcomed by the Chancellor.

George Osborne said: "Lower inflation and rising job numbers show our long term plan is working, and bringing greater economic security."

The general secretary of the union organisation the TUC, Frances O'Grady, said workers remained £40-a-week worse off than before the financial crisis.

UK economist at Scotiabank, Alan Clarke, said the latest CPI reading was likely to mark the low point in UK inflation as a rebound is likely to come from the impact of Easter holidays on airfares.

However, he saw real-terms wage growth accelerating to counter that effect.

He said: "At the moment, consumer spending growth is being boosted by falling savings and rising borrowing.

"If real incomes continue to improve over the coming quarters (as we expect), then spending growth will be increasingly underpinned by solid fundamentals rather than the feel-good factor associated with a booming housing market."

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Barclays Hires Gillies As New Board Pay Chief

By Mark Kleinman, City Editor

Barclays is to take an important step towards defusing an ongoing pay row with shareholders, with the appointment of a City heavyweight to chair its board remuneration committee.

Sky News has learned Crawford Gillies, who holds directorships at Standard Life, Scottish Enterprise and Mitie Group, will join Barclays' board as a non-executive director in the coming weeks.

Mr Gillies, who will immediately become a member of the bank's remuneration committee, will take over its chairmanship later this year from Sir John Sunderland, sources said.

His appointment is expected to be announced to the stock market on Tuesday, just nine days before a potentially stormy annual meeting at which Barclays is braced for significant opposition over pay and bonuses.

It will follow weeks of recriminations from major Barclays investors, who were infuriated by the bank's decision to increase its bonus pool by 10% to £2.4bn in February despite a slide in pre-tax profits.

The pay hike was described by Barclays' chief executive Antony Jenkins as being necessary to prevent a "death spiral" of defections of leading investment bank employees to rivals.

Shareholders were especially annoyed by the move because the bank was forced to raise almost £6bn through a rights issue last year.

City sources said Barclays' search for a new pay committee chief had been initiated last autumn, with Sir John now entering his tenth year on the board, and that it had taken several months to identify the most appropriate candidate.

A staunch supporter of the lavish pay packages enjoyed by Bob Diamond, Mr Jenkins' predecessor, Sir John will seek re-election at this month's AGM but is expected to retire from the board later this year.

He will continue to oversee the search for Sir David Walker's successor as chairman in the meantime, a City insider said.

Some influential shareholder advisory groups, such as Pirc, have recommended opposing Sir John's re-election, while Glass Lewis, a proxy voting adviser, has urged opposing the non-binding pay report.

Separately, the Association of British Insurers has issued so-called 'amber-top' notices on both the 2013 report and Barclays' future pay policies, which means that shareholders should consider carefully before deciding how to vote.

Barclays hopes that the appointment of Mr Gillies will persuade floating investors that it is serious about reducing pay levels over the long term.

Mr Gillies will assume responsibility for the 2014 remuneration round, which will include role-based allowances for hundreds of Barclays staff as the bank seeks to cope with new European Union pay rules.

Sky News has also learned that Jupiter Asset Management, which holds a small stake in Barclays, is among the institutional shareholders expected to vote against the directors' remuneration report.

Some of these could, however, be persuaded to rethink in the light of Tuesday's news.

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Economy Fragile As High Street Spending Falls

By Gerard Tubb, North of England Correspondent

A fall in high street spending for the second month in a row has underlined the fragile nature of the long-awaited economic recovery.

Figures from the British Retail Consortium show like-for-like sales dropped by 1.7% in March compared with the same period in 2013, with the later timing of Easter this year blamed for the fall.

Online sales rose 12.8% last month, helped by the lack of Easter holidays, which tend to drive consumers out of the house and to the shops.

Meanwhile, for the three-month period to March, food sales were down 2.7% on the year before.

The figures come a few days after economic forecasters EY ITEM Club predicted consumer spending will lead the recovery in 2014.

They expect wages to rise in real terms for the first time in six years, with pay up by 1.7% and inflation falling to 1.6%.

Consumer spending is predicted to drive the economic recovery

The conflicting reports are echoed at Browns department store in York where managing director Nick Brown says he is selling more big ticket items like furniture.

But customers are increasingly taking the option of interest free credit which reduces profit margins.

Many shoppers in the store said they did not feel any better off than they did this time last year.

Economist Nida Broughton from the Social Market Foundation warned consumers are still suffering after losing a decade of growth.

"Real wages have taken a cut of 7% since 2008 so we're nowhere near where we were.

"We're still poorer than we were. In fact real wages are at the level they were at in 2004, so we've got a lost decade to make up for."

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Wet February Wipes £270m From Building Sector

Woolly weather in February caused a sharp decline in UK construction, wiping more than a quarter of a billion pounds from the sector.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said output fell to £5.8bn, down 2.8% from January.

Output is defined as the amount charged by construction companies to customers for value of work in the period, excluding VAT and payments to sub-contractors.

It said new work dropped to 2.6% - equivalent to £160m - while the repair and maintenance sub-sector fell by 3.1% to £110m.

The ONS said: "While most private indicators of construction activity picked up throughout 2013 and 2014, a number were seen to temporarily depart from this trend in February 2014.

"Many also cited adverse weather conditions as the primary reason for lower activity levels, especially in the house building sector."

The ONS said the February dip caused construction to stay virtually flat over the quarter.

It said between December and February, the total sector grew by only 0.3%, compared to the September to November period.

The small amount of growth over the three-month winter period was due to a 1% increase in new construction work.

During the same period repair and maintenance decreased by 0.8%, despite a slight rise of 0.3% in work for public housing.

It said the level of construction was an eighth below the best monthly peak, which was recorded in June 2011 at £6.6bn.

Construction in the housing industry was particularly affected in February because of the weather.

It fell 6.3% on January's figure and was the biggest monthly drop since March last year, when below average temperatures and snow hit the country.

But overall, while public housing was down, private new housing was up 15.3% compared to February last year.

The ONS said damage to property in February caused by storms, wind and flooding is yet to be recorded in monthly data and is expected to be reflected when March's figures are released.

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Osborne Jail Threat For Offshore Tax Evaders

Wealthy people who stash money in offshore accounts to evade paying tax could be sent to jail, the government has said.

Chancellor George Osborne said new proposals could mean that people who hide their cash overseas could face criminal charges even if they did not intend to evade tax.

Mr Osborne, who is consulting on the new powers, said there would be "no safe haven" for anyone who cheats the Exchequer.

It comes after concerns that some wealthy people are costing the government millions of pounds a year by keeping money away from the glare of UK authorities.

HM Revenue & Customs will have the power to prosecute people who do not declare their foreign income, regardless of whether they intend to avoid payment.

Previously, in order to earn a conviction with a jail sentence, prosecutors had to show that individuals intended to avoid paying tax on foreign income.

Mr Osborne, who has been at the International Monetary Fund meeting in Washington, told the Financial Times: "We are changing the balance of the law so the burden of proof falls on those who are hiding their money offshore and we don't have to prove that they intended to do so."

He added: "It is totally unacceptable for people not to pay the tax that is due and the message will be clear now with this new criminal offence that if you're evading tax offshore, there is no safe haven."

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has been criticised for not prosecuting enough tax evaders.

Sky News' Ecomonics Editor Ed Conway said there has been much international discussion about what can be done to clamp down on people who hide money overseas.

David Cameron has previously announced a crackdown on so-called shell companies to help combat tax evasion and corruption.

The new criminal offence and sanctions are expected to come into effect next year, but many are expected to contribute to the consultation before that can happen.

The announcement was greeted by dismay from some, with critics suggesting the law could result in people being jailed when they were genuinely ignorant of the law.

Bill Dowdell, head of tax at Deloitte, told The Times: "It's horrifying. People should not be put in prison unless you can prove intent.

"I'm shocked to find that an offence which could lead to a prison sentence could be decided on a strict-liability basis."

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Wet February Wipes £270m From Building Sector

Woolly weather in February caused a sharp decline in UK construction, wiping more than a quarter of a billion pounds from the sector.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said output fell to £5.8bn, down 2.8% from January.

Output is defined as the amount charged by construction companies to customers for value of work in the period, excluding VAT and payments to sub-contractors.

It said new work dropped to 2.6% - equivalent to £160m - while the repair and maintenance sub-sector fell by 3.1% to £110m.

The ONS said: "While most private indicators of construction activity picked up throughout 2013 and 2014, a number were seen to temporarily depart from this trend in February 2014.

"Many also cited adverse weather conditions as the primary reason for lower activity levels, especially in the house building sector."

The ONS said the February dip caused construction to stay virtually flat over the quarter.

It said between December and February, the total sector grew by only 0.3%, compared to the September to November period.

The small amount of growth over the three-month winter period was due to a 1% increase in new construction work.

During the same period repair and maintenance decreased by 0.8%, despite a slight rise of 0.3% in work for public housing.

It said the level of construction was an eighth below the best monthly peak, which was recorded in June 2011 at £6.6bn.

Construction in the housing industry was particularly affected in February because of the weather.

It fell 6.3% on January's figure and was the biggest monthly drop since March last year, when below average temperatures and snow hit the country.

But overall, while public housing was down, private new housing was up 15.3% compared to February last year.

The ONS said damage to property in February caused by storms, wind and flooding is yet to be recorded in monthly data and is expected to be reflected when March's figures are released.

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Osborne Jail Threat For Offshore Tax Evaders

Wealthy people who stash money in offshore accounts to evade paying tax could be sent to jail, the government has said.

Chancellor George Osborne said new proposals could mean that people who hide their cash overseas could face criminal charges even if they did not intend to evade tax.

Mr Osborne, who is consulting on the new powers, said there would be "no safe haven" for anyone who cheats the Exchequer.

It comes after concerns that some wealthy people are costing the government millions of pounds a year by keeping money away from the glare of UK authorities.

HM Revenue & Customs will have the power to prosecute people who do not declare their foreign income, regardless of whether they intend to avoid payment.

Previously, in order to earn a conviction with a jail sentence, prosecutors had to show that individuals intended to avoid paying tax on foreign income.

Mr Osborne, who has been at the International Monetary Fund meeting in Washington, told the Financial Times: "We are changing the balance of the law so the burden of proof falls on those who are hiding their money offshore and we don't have to prove that they intended to do so."

He added: "It is totally unacceptable for people not to pay the tax that is due and the message will be clear now with this new criminal offence that if you're evading tax offshore, there is no safe haven."

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has been criticised for not prosecuting enough tax evaders.

Sky News' Ecomonics Editor Ed Conway said there has been much international discussion about what can be done to clamp down on people who hide money overseas.

David Cameron has previously announced a crackdown on so-called shell companies to help combat tax evasion and corruption.

The new criminal offence and sanctions are expected to come into effect next year, but many are expected to contribute to the consultation before that can happen.

The announcement was greeted by dismay from some, with critics suggesting the law could result in people being jailed when they were genuinely ignorant of the law.

Bill Dowdell, head of tax at Deloitte, told The Times: "It's horrifying. People should not be put in prison unless you can prove intent.

"I'm shocked to find that an offence which could lead to a prison sentence could be decided on a strict-liability basis."

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