Chefs who live below poverty lines

In the memo, dated August 3, 2010 James writes: ‘HMRC have seriously underestimated the additional tax etc that was at stake and I cannot stress enough that we really have got away with murder here.’  Former tax officer with HMRC, Trevor James, claims his methods were ‘legitimate, of course’ despite talking of prosecution and admitting that he knowingly removed documents from the company’s personnel files. The memo says: ‘It would have seriously complicated ­matters had I left all the paperwork in... it could, potentially, have cost us many hundreds of thousands, possibly millions. Gordon Ramsays almost got away with murder

It alleges Messrs Gould, Leaver and Ross funded the offshore network by buying life insurance policies from Fidelity Pacific Life Insurance Company, which operates from tax haven Vanuatu and claims on its website that although ''death is inevitable taxation does not have to be''. Offshoring: tax arrangements described as 'Byzantine in their complexity'  The world of tax edens

 Global Witness submission to Select Committee inquiry into oil and mining sectors calls for:

• a public register of real owners of UK companies
• speedy passing of new EU standard into UK law ensuring company payments to governments are reported
• end to lobbying by Shell, others, to delay UK implementation of EU transparency law
• blocking of attempt to take ENRC private until official investigations completed
• the UK judicial authorities to freeze funds from a major Nigerian oil deal involving Shell, Eni and various offshore companies Lifting the lid on corruption scandals