In the furore surrounding Lord Sleaze of Belize, one genuinely hypocritical fact stands out, the non-taxpaying Tory peer benefited enourmously frm the taxpayers' bail-out of the banks, led by a Labour Government.
Ashcroft, who has substantial banking interests in Central and South America would have seen his fortune rapidly diminish if the bail-out of the bankers had not happened.
US and UK governmental intervention ensured that the big banks such as HSBC, RBS, Bank of America etc etc etc were protected from the consequences of their reckles behaviour.
However, what has not been focused on, is that because of the complex inter-relationships between banks and other beanks as well as with their depositers, is that Ashcroft's banking interests would have been worthless as banks would have defaulted on their debts.
Ashcroft's Bank of Belize and his other banking interests would have been swallowed up in the financial maelstrom and he would have lost a substantuial part of his fortune.
Yet this tax-dodger had for years claimed for years that his personal tax status was a private affair. Even though he sat in the House of Lords as a Tory peer and was able to speak on what the UK Treasury was up to without declaring an interest. He should be stripped of his peerage.
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