REVELATION NOT RECRIMINATION

I was bemused this morning by a tweet from journalist Tom English which read....

“rangerstaxcase was a phenomenon. Total respect for the quality of that blog's information. But it became bitter and pompous and lost its way”

It would appear post verdict that the bewitching powers of the Rangers Tax Case Blog still appears to be exerting it's enchantment. What Tom English fails to recognise is that the quality of the information he refers to was obtained as a result of an employee (s) of HMRC breaching the trust of his/her employer and consequently embarking on a course of criminal conduct.

Furthermore the “bitter and pompous” nature of the blog's writers gained a credibility and respectability. It was honoured with awards, such was the extent of their stream of exclusives which appeared on an almost daily basis. Intelligent people ignored the clear motivations of those involved with the blog, they were “in the know”, their information and revelations were second to none. It appeared at times they had a hotline or a passport to the evidence HMRC's investigators had collected.

Post verdict there are now recriminations from the journalistic community towards this blog which appeared to enchant a nation to believe Rangers FC were guilty.  And of course those of us in the Rangers family are quite rightly demanding the role and conduct of HMRC be examined.

But this should not be done out of anger or recrimination, nor should such demands for an enquiry be confined to those of who are Rangers supporters.

The Rangers Tax Case Blog was successful in making the name of Rangers toxic. The financial consequences of this are well documented and do not need repeating. But they were only successful in achieving this, and their awards, as a result of the steady stream of leaks which came from HMRC and which they used to full benefit. Without such disclosures this would merely have been a “bitter and pompous” blog.

Therefore it is not only in Rangers interest, but also the public interest for a full and public investigation into HMRC. A member or member(s) of their staff are responsible for a gross breach of trust and have embarked on a course of conduct which is criminal.


http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/cogmanual/cog904510.htm

The normal rules of confidentiality are set out in The Guide - to working in HM Revenue & Customs (HRLG3.2.5). These rules must be observed strictly with regard to:

information obtained during a compliance check, and

confidential official instructions issued for use within the Department.

The rules apply to contacts with

other Government departments

the public, or

any third party.

All employees of HM Revenue & Customs are under a very strict legal duty to maintain the confidentiality of information held about its customers. All HMRC staff are bound by the provisions of the Official Secrets Act 1989 and the Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2005.

S18 of the CRCA also makes it clear you must not give (‘disclose’) HMRC information to anyone unless you have the lawful authority to do so - this includes other Government Departments & their Agencies, local authorities, police, any other public bodies, agents and members of the public.

Refer to Information Disclosure Guide (IDG) for more information. There is a Quick reference Guide at IDG20000.

Given the numerous exclusives which the Rangers Tax Case Blog revealed it would appear that these breaches of trust and criminal behaviour were not just a one off but were committed repeatedly and in a consistent manner.

Therefore the following questions at the very least need to be answered by HMRC :-


Did they launch an investigation into the leaks. If not why not ?

Was the culprit identified and if so what punishment did he/she receive ?

Was any person prosecuted as a result of these leaks ?

Given that these leaks are criminal were the Police involved ? If not why not ?

How was it that an employee of HMRC was able to provide what appears to be a steady stream of information over a consistent period to the Rangers Tax Case Blog ?

What action plans did HMRC management  put in place to prevent such leaks ?

These questions are not going to go away. Given the consequences and the damages which these leaks caused it is absolutely essential that a full scale enquiry is launched. The demand for this is not going to go away – if the many thousands of persons who have signed the online petition are ignored then we will simply escalate the matter further.

You can rest assured of that.