The tax man with his snout in the trough: As HMRC boss, Dave Hartnett persecuted small taxpayers while striking sweetheart deals with tax-avoiding giants. He did almost nothing about the HSBC scandal, then went to work for them

‘As the credit crunch bit hard into the British economy, the esteemed head of Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs decided to swap the grey chill of London — flying business class, naturally — for a five-star hotel in the Indian sunshine.

It was December 2010 — the height of the financial crisis that saw politicians call on the British people to remember Winston Churchill’s cry that ‘we’re all in it together’. Yet that sentiment seemed far from the mind of civil service mandarin David Hartnett.

Travelling at taxpayers’ expense to attend the Mumbai International Taxation Conference, Hartnett — happily married with three children — was accompanied by another senior tax official from his department called Melissa Tatton: the pair spent four days enjoying this vibrant seaside Indian city, staying in £200-a-night rooms on the executive floor of the ITC Maratha Hotel.’

Read more: The tax man with his snout in the trough: As HMRC boss, Dave Hartnett persecuted small taxpayers while striking sweetheart deals with tax-avoiding giants. He did almost nothing about the HSBC scandal, then went to work for them