Hague knew Ashcroft was non-dom 'months ago'
Updated on 03 March 2010
As it emerges that Lord Ashcroft only told the Tory leadership he was still a "non-dom" in the last few months, Lord Paul tells Channel 4 News there could be up to 100 non-dom peers.
It would appear that Lord Ashcroft, the former Conservative party treasurer and a major donor, only told the party leadership that he was still a "non-dom" for tax purposes in the last few months.
That is the implication of tonight's comments by William Hague, the shadow foreign secretary and the man who pushed Lord Ashcroft's peerage through.
William Hague has kept mum for days over what he knew about the Tory donor Lord Ashcroft's tax status.
Tonight the shadow foreign secretary said he has only known for a few months that the Tory peer hadn't kept his promise to become a permanent UK resident.
Lord Ashcroft was twice turned down for a peerage because he was based mainly in Belize, but he finally made it to the Lords in 2000. He said he owed his elevation to the Tory leader at the time - William Hague.
Lord Ashcroft only became a member of the Lords because he promised in writing to become a permanent resident in this country, which meant paying full UK tax.
But he then changed that undertaking, pledging instead to become a long-term resident. That allowed him to avoid paying tax on his overseas earnings.
It was that subtle change that Hague claimed tonight he had only found out about in the last few months. He implied in a BBC radio interview that Lord Ashcroft kept his senior colleagues in the dark that he remained a "non-dom" - that is, he did not pay full British tax.
William Hague told BBC Radio 4's The World Tonight: "Over the last few months I knew about that. And, of course, I was very keen to support him then in making his position public."
Foreign Secretary David Miliband called for Lord Ashcroft to be sacked as Conservative deputy chairman. He told Channel 4 News: "This is an extraordinary and damning revelation because Lord Ashcroft has failed to come clean with the leaders of the Conservative party, and the leaders of the Conservative party have failed to come clean over the last few months with the rest of the country.
"These are promises that were made in respect of a peerage that was given, and now tax has not been paid and instead it’s been given to the Conservative party for the general election fund."
The shadow foreign secretary was bombarded with questions about Lord Ashcroft when he stood in for David Cameron in the Commons today, but he tried to turn the tables on Labour. "People in glass houses should not start throwing stones," Mr Hague told Labour’s Harriet Harman.
And he went on: "If she wants to discuss the House of Lords, I'm sure she will want to explain the position of Lord Paul."
Labour peer Lord Paul admits he does not pay tax on his overseas earnings. But he says because he has lived in Britain for so long, he is deemed to be domiciled here so he would have to pay inheritance tax in the UK.
But he told Channel 4 News there could be as many as 100 non-doms in the Lords. He said: "My view is that quite a lot – I mean, more near the 100 – who are non-domiciled.
"But every peer, as I explained to you, has a little different status. To try and compare one because it suits you politically – that is not how tax issues are decided. Tax issues are decided by the finance act and not by your political stunts."
A new law going through parliament will ban non-dom peers and MPs. But Lord Paul told us he has been advised the legislation will still allow him to avoid tax on his overseas earnings.
Whatever the difficulties for Labour, though, it is the Tory leader who has the biggest problem.
Pollsters say the daily revelations risk reinforcing suggestions the Conservatives are a party for the rich, out of touch with reality.
