Ex-HSBC boss quits advisory body

Monday 16 February 2015

Former HSBC boss Lord Green is to step down from a financial services industry body amid claims the bank enabled tax dodging while he was in charge.

The peer - who also served as David Cameron's trade minister - has quit as chair of TheCityUK's Advisory Council with immediate effect.

Chairman of the organisation's board Sir Gerry Grimstone said: "Stephen Green is a man of great personal integrity who has given huge service to his country and the City.

"He doesn't want to damage the effectiveness of TheCityUK in promoting good governance and doing the right thing so has decided to step aside from chairing our Advisory Council. This is entirely his own decision."

Sir Gerry will take on Lord Green's role alongside his current position. Lord Green, who was chairman of HSBC between 2006 and 2010, has been under pressure to explain behaviour at the bank's Swiss arm.

Information leaked to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) in 2010 identified 7,000 British clients, 1,100 of whom had not paid their taxes. Some £135 million in tax and penalties has since been recovered, but only one prosecution has been brought.

Shadow treasury minister Chris Leslie said: "We need a full and frank statement from Lord Green explaining what he knew about what was happening while he was in charge of HSBC. There are also mounting questions for ministers, which continue to go unanswered. Did David Cameron and George Osborne discuss tax evasion at HSBC with Lord Green? The Prime Minister failed to answer this four times in the House of Commons this week.

"Why did they appoint Lord Green as a Tory minister months after the Government received these files? Why have we only had one prosecution out of 1,100 names? And why did George Osborne and the Treasury sign a deal with the Swiss in 2012 which prevents the UK from actively obtaining similar information in the future? It is time we finally had answers from David Cameron and George Osborne."

Labour leader Ed Miliband, who has been speaking at the party's conference in Wales, welcomed Lord Green's decision to step down.

"I think it is right that he has done that. I think the bigger question is David Cameron and the questions he has got to answer," he said. "He has still not accounted for why he appointed Lord Green in the first place, when it was already public knowledge about what happened at HSBC.

"He has still not explained whether over the three years or so that Lord Green was a minister, whether he actually asked about what was going on about HSBC when it was public knowledge. The questions are mounting for David Cameron to answer."