William Hague hid Lord Ashcroft's tax status for months
Former leader's disclosure reveals peer kept financial affairs secret from senior Conservatives for a decade
The turmoil at the top of the Tory party over the tax affairs of Lord Ashcroft escalated tonight as the former leader, William Hague, admitted he had known "for a few months" that the peer had renegotiated the terms under which he took his place in the House of Lords.
Hague's disclosure put pressure on himself and the party to explain why they have repeatedly evaded questions about the matter in a succession of recent interviews. It also highlights how the Conservative deputy chairman kept his tax status secret for almost a decade from his closest ally in the party, and the man who lobbied hardest for his peerage in 2000.
Lord Ashcroft has admitted that he is a 'non-dom' - only paying tax on his British income. Photograph: Jon Super/AP
The admission, in a BBC interview, came amid growing signs of tension between the Cameron and Hague camps over Ashcroft, who is central to the party's general election campaign. Members of David Cameron's circle believe Hague has mishandled the issue.
Lord Ashcroft admitted on Monday that he was a "non-dom" – only paying tax on his British income. After refusing to answer any questions about what he knew and when, Hague finally elaborated in an interview on Radio 4's The World Tonight programme. The former Conservative leader revealed he had only recently discovered the terms of the arrangement that allowed Ashcroft to remain a non-dom. He was asked whether the "first he had known" of the arrangement was when Ashcroft revealed it at the start of the week. Hague replied: "Well, I knew in advance of that."
Hague was pressed on exactly when he had found out. He said: "Over the last few months I knew about that and of course I was keen to support him then in making his position public."
The Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesman, Ed Davey, who took part in the radio debate with Hague, told the Guardian: "There are two questions we now need to know. How long is a few months? Because he has been going round on the record defending Ashcroft's status; and secondly, when and what visits were made with, and paid for by, Ashcroft?"
Labour's general election co-ordinator, Douglas Alexander, added: "Lord Ashcroft's position is now completely untenable. David Cameron must now act and fire him. He surely cannot tolerate a position where the most senior member of his shadow cabinet has been kept in the dark for so long by his most senior funder and deputy chairman. It is also clear tonight that neither David Cameron nor William Hague have sought the reassurances from Michael Ashcroft that they needed to."
Hague became central to the row after the Guardian published details of letters sent between him and Tony Blair from 1999 and 2000. In 2000 Hague suggested Ashcroft would become a full UK taxpayer when he took his seat in the Lords. But this week Ashcroft revealed he has been a non-dom for the last 10 years, after a deal was agreed when his peerage was awarded. In 2000 Ashcroft offered Hague, who was then Tory leader, a "clear and unequivocal" assurance that if he was granted a peerage he would be a permanent resident in the UK by the end of that year. That letter was passed to the House of Lords appointments committee. The peerage was approved within a week.
Gordon Prentice, the Labour MP who has campaigned against Ashcroft for years, was particularly critical of Hague, saying it was "not credible" that the former leader had never challenged the peer.
Barry Legg, a former Tory MP who served as chief executive under Iain Duncan Smith, admitted the Ashcroft affair had damaged the party. "It is damaging that you have somebody contribute so much money to the Conservative party who basically doesn't want to pay taxes in this country. It questions the commitment of that donor to the country. It looks as if those people in a position to ask those questions have decided for whatever reason not to press the matter. It probably reflects poor judgment on the part of people that are in charge of the party."
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