Senior Tories accused of tax dodging

Whether or not Channel 4 will have cold feet (in the same manner as the BBC's Panorama programme did recently) remains to be seen, but tomorrow Dispatches is scheduled to make allegations regarding the tax affairs of Transport Minister Philip Hammond, International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell and George Osborne.

There would be a rich irony (if you'll excuse the pun) that the week Gideon announces a crack down on benefit cheats, he and his colleagues are being accused of being complicit in forms of tax avoidance - something that a senior tax expert recently estimated costs the UK a staggering £120bn per year, which is significantly more than the planning reductions in public spending.