The UK government has been accused of caving-in to pressure from the British Virgin Islands by allowing it to limit access to a register of company share ownership to only those deemed to have a legitimate interest. The restriction, to be discussed at talks starting on Tuesday between Foreign Office ministers and leaders of the British overseas territories (BOTs) in London, is in defiance of legislation passed by the UK government as long ago as 2008 that would make the register available to all.
Labour has asked Nigel Farage to confirm whether he has any financial interest in his constituency home, after it emerged that his partner bought the house saving him a 44,000 tax bill. However, the Guardian revealed in May that the 895,000 house had in fact been bought by his partner, Laure Ferrari, with Farage saying his name did not appear on the deeds for security reasons. If he had made the purchase, he would have been liable for 10% stamp duty rather than 5% because it was an additional property.