Lord Lie-Low Laid-law Offshore: Representation Without Taxation

Robert Peston has a good story on his BBC Blog today. Tasty morsels:

"In the spring of 2004, the Lords Appointments Commission insisted that the wealthy businessman should not become a lord unless he agreed to start paying most of his taxes in Britain. In April of 2004, Lord Laidlaw - who has been a substantial donor to the Tory Party - agreed to do just that."


But three years on Lord Laidlaw is still not resident in the UK. Escaping tax on £700M plus:

"Laidlaw wrote to the Commission three weeks ago explaining why he had not yet given up his tax-exile status. The letter ... cites a variety of personal reasons (and) says that (he) still intends to become a UK resident for tax purposes."

"In 2005, Lord Laidlaw sold his conferences business, the Institute of International Research, for £768m. He picked up £714m for his stake in the Bermuda-based business."

"There was plenty of controversy when Irvine Laidlaw became a lord because he has been a generous Tory donor. He is believed to have given the Tories more than £1m in the past. The Conservative Party currently owes Lord Laidlaw £2.5m."

The Lords Appointments Commission has now shut the stable door.

UPDATE: Conservative Home quote the Torygraph saying Dave-id Cameron has put his foot down and demanded a home-coming, "and don't forget your cheque book!"