Lewis Hamilton and Mrs Brown's Boys actors latest to be exposed by Paradise Papers leaks

The Labour Party were accused of hypocrisyin their response to the Paradise Papers leaks as it emerged that they rent their headquarters from an offshore trust. 

In the second day of revelations, which come predominately from a hack of law firm Appleby, the rich and famous faced further questions over their complex financial dealings. 

Lewis Hamilton, the Formula One champion and one of the world's richest sportsmen, was accused of avoiding European taxes through a leasing businesses from which he rented his private jet back to himself.

And three stars of the hit BBC sitcom Mrs Brown's Boys were revealed to have diverted more than £2million into an offshore tax-avoidance scheme.  

British lawyer James O’Toole - who described himself in emails as a "tax alchemist” - set up structures designed to help the wealthy hide their money, including a loophole for paying public school fees whilst operating within the law.

Apple, the world's most profitable firm, was also accused of shopping around for a tax haven and moving their offshore cash reserve to the Channel Island of Jersey when controversial practices in Ireland were cracked down upon in 2013. 

The company insisted it remained the world's largest taxpayer with £26bn in corporation tax over the past three years and the move had not reduced their payments in any country.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell, the shadow chancellor, both condemned what they described as "massive tax avoidance" exposed in the leak. 

Mr Corbyn even suggested that the Queen should apologise and be investigated for allowing her advisers at the Duchy of Lancaster to put around £10m in offshore investments. 

He said  “Anyone that is putting money into tax havens in order to avoid taxation in Britain, and obviously investigations have to take place, should do two things - not just apologise for it but also recognise what it does to our society.

“If a very wealthy person wants to avoid taxation in Britain, and therefore put money into a tax haven somewhere, who loses? Schools, hospitals, housing, all those public services lose and the rest of the population has to pay to cover up the deficit created by that."

Mr McDonnell echoed his sentiments when he called for a full public inquiry into the leaks, and went further saying that he would introduce a "withholding tax". 

He continued: "There are a lot of these companies that have contracts with our Government so we are paying them money and that money is then going into tax havens. I would like to end those companies who are engaged in tax avoidance having public contracts."

Paradise Papers | Who is involved?

It later emerged that the lease on Labour's eight-floor headquarters, thought to be worth nearly one million pounds a year, is paid by the party to The West End of London Property Trust (WELPUT), a fund registered in Jersey.

Schroders, the Jersey based company who manage the Trust, said tax is paid on the rent before it is put into trust and when their investors take profits they have to pay tax on it in their home country.

It has previously been revealed that Mr McDonnell received an income of £14,421 from his Westminster City Council pension which is also invested in a Guernsey trust. 

Jacob Rees-Mogg said that Labour had fundamentally misunderstood offshore trusts, in which he invests, as tax on the income was paid when the money was brought back into the UK. 

"They are in the awful position of being both hypocritical and not very bright," he said. 

"It is classic socialism, a case of do as I say and not as I do."

A Labour spokesperson said the party received "no benefit as a result of the financial arrangements of the building owner" and added: "We remain committed to changing the current tax environment and to tackling tax avoidance.” 

In brief | What is a tax haven?

In a second day of revelations Hamilton was said to have been refunded £3.3m in VAT when he imported his £16.5m red Bombardier aircraft into England from Canada in 2013 through the Isle of Man. 

The jet was bought by his British Virgin Islands company, it was then leased to an Isle of Man company set up by Appleby who then leased it to a UK jet chartering company, who then leased it to Mr Hamilton and his team. 

There is no suggestion that Hamilton was directly involved in creating the scheme used for his jet and he told the BBC that he asked a tax barrister to check it and was told it was lawful.  

The Isle of Man government has reviewed its schemes and found no evidence of wrongdoing but has nonetheless asked the Treasury to investigate. 

Patrick Houlihan and Martin and Fiona Delany were also implicated in offshore schemes as it emerged that they  put their fees from a production company owned by Brendan O'Carroll, the creator and star Mrs Brown's Boys and Mrs Delany's father, into companies that they controlled in Mauritius which then repaid them in loans. 

The three actors were introduced to the scheme by English accountant Roy Lyness, who first drew headlines in 2012 for running the scheme which helped comedian Jimmy Carr avoid paying more than £3m on his earnings. 

The three could not be contacted for comment but Mr Houlihan, who plays Dermot, had seemed confused over the scheme and told the Irish Times that he had not intended to avoid tax but simply control when he got the money and paid the tax on it. 

He said he was contacted by the BBC's Panorama about the scheme, adding: "I was surprised and I hung up. Afterwards I had to Google tax avoidance to see what it meant.”

The documents are said to show that Mr Lyness inroduced them to tax advice firm Aston Court, which operated legal offshore trusts and companies which helped reduce tax liabilities. 

Aston Court was in turn part run by Mr O'Toole, who helped his clients set up offshore cell companies where they lost technical control of their money but signed up as "investment advisers" who could control how money was spent. 

Tax havens

Mark Faulkner, a banker, and his wife, award winning war photographer Harriet Logan, were caught up in a complicated web of investments, the documents are said to show.

In a move that is not illegal, they transferred millions of investments including cash, stocks and shares, a yacht and a portfolio of pictures to companies in Mauritius called Babington PCC. 

They then advised on a number of investments including a classic car, a London flat and a wine collection. 

They are now reviewing the arrangements and if any tax is required by HMRC it will be paid, their lawyers have said. 

“Our clients have now commenced dialogue with HMRC to review the arrangements that their previous advisers had recommended,” the lawyer told the Guardian.

Some of Aston Court's clients also required access to money for school fees and therefore the Educational Purpose Trust (EPT) was set up in Mauritius which offered to pay for scholarships for children in need of help. 

About | Appleby

Most applications came from Aston Court clients whose children were already attending the top private schools and they were then asked to make a “charitable contribution” to the trust, which would be tax deductible and would cover their children's fees. 

Mr O'Toole and Aston Court did not respond to request for comments. 

Appleby has said in a statement: “There is no evidence of wrongdoing either on the part of ourselves or our clients.”