(Bromley and Chislehurst)
(Con): I very much agree with what my right hon. Friend
has said. Before he leaves the international dimension, will he
confirm that in recent years—well after many of these papers came
to light—the three Crown dependencies and the overseas territory
of Gibraltar have fully co-operated with the UK in relation to
all tax transparency and OECD measures, and that they have the
same tax transparency ratings as the United States, Germany,
ourselves and other western democracies?
The Financial Secretary to the Treasury (Mel
Stride): I am grateful to my hon. Friend for that
intervention. In relation to corruption inquiries, for example,
we have automatic access to our Crown dependencies and overseas
territories as a result of that co-operation...
: I refer to my
declaration in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. My
right hon. Friend makes a fair point. Does he also accept that it
is fair that we should not lump all the overseas territories into
one basket? Some are much more compliant than others, Gibraltar
being one.
Mr (Sutton Coldfield)
(Con): My hon. Friend makes a good point. I specifically
exclude Gibraltar from what I am saying because it is not an
example of what we are talking about.
Time is short. My final point is that the United Kingdom led on
the 0.7% target. Around the world, the United Kingdom is looked
to for leadership on international development. International
development is part of this Parliament’s identity, it is who we
are and it is part of global Britain. We have an obligation, not
least to our own taxpayers, to champion transparency and openness
and to have zero tolerance towards corruption.
When we first came into government in 2010, the Department for
International Development led the way with its transparency
guarantee. We openly published all expenditure above £500 on the
internet. It may be a cliché, but sunlight really is the best
disinfectant. That is at the heart of what we are talking about
today...
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