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Billionaire tax exiles, the British National Party, Saudi royalty and oil-rich Gulf states have all claimed millions of pounds in taxpayer-funded license money, The Guardian may reveal.
The revelations, based on analysis of government information, have sparked consternation among MPs over the use of a scheme designed to support struggling businesses and prevent mass unemployment, with one complaining that public money is being scattered. “like confetti”.
The beneficiaries behind the companies that have relied on the coronavirus job retention scheme include:
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Members of the Saudi royal family
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Qataris behind Harrods and the Ritz
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The ruler of Dubai
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Tax exiles Jim Ratcliffe and Guy Hands
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Billionaires Evgeny Lebedev, Len Blavatnik and Mohamed Al Fayed
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The British National Party
The government first released information on the claimants last month, when it released data on the 750,000 companies using the scheme in December 2020. Since then, details have emerged on some claimants, including Tony and Cherie Blair, and golf courses. owned by Donald Trump.
But many of the beneficiaries have remained hidden until now, often due to complex ownership structures of the company. The Guardian cross-referenced government data with Companies House files revealing who owns a majority stake in UK companies.
The analysis shows companies owned by some of the richest people and entities in the world that benefited from the scheme. The figures below are just a snapshot of one month. Some companies will have claimed more since the licensing scheme began, under which the government covers 80% of an employee’s salary, in March last year.
Harrods, owned by the Qatari sovereign wealth fund and the Ritz hotel, owned by the ruler of Qatar’s brother-in-law, claimed up to £ 3 million between them in December.
Four members of the Saudi royals received up to £ 55,000 for four companies, one of which manages the 2,000-acre Glympton Park estate in Oxfordshire, owned until this year by Bandar bin Sultan, a former Saudi ambassador to the United States.
The Dubai government, and its ruler Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, have also called for companies to include a 24-hour “six-star” concierge service for VIPs.
British-born billionaires, including tax exiles, also turned to state subsidies.
Monaco-based Jim Ratcliffe, formerly the UK’s richest man, claimed up to £ 175,000 for two hotel businesses and a fashion company.
Two businesses owned by Lord Ashcroft, the Conservative donor billionaire and former Conservative party chairman, claimed £ 20,000.
Other billionaires whose companies have claimed tens of thousands of state support include media mogul Len Blavatnik, former Harrods owner Mohamed Al Fayed, and newspaper owner Evgeny Lebedev.
A subsidiary of Arconic, the manufacturer of cladding used in Grenfell Tower, claimed up to £ 500,000 under the CJRS.
The British National Party, led by Adam Walker, claimed up to £ 10,000.
Shadow Chancellor Anneliese Dodds said: “Labor has called from the beginning of this crisis for specific wage support to protect jobs and businesses, but the Chancellor refused to listen.
“Now it appears that foreign billionaires have also used the scheme without such restrictions on its use.
“The mask is slipping with this chancellor. Instead of doing all you can to protect jobs and livelihoods, you are wasting billions of pounds of public money, slashing pay for our NHS heroes, and hitting families across the country with tax increases. and payment freezes “.
Labor MP and tax activist Margaret Hodge said: “It is irresponsible to spread public money like confetti.
“The government is reluctant to give free school meals to children and an adequate pay raise for nurses. In that context, that seems obscene. “
Robert Palmer, executive director of the campaign group Tax Justice UK, said: “It is quite irritating that tax exiles who have downplayed their contributions in good times are begging for handouts when the going gets tough.”
“We have made it clear that the scheme should be used in the spirit in which it was intended,” said a Treausry spokesman, adding that over the past 12 months the scheme had “helped pay the wages of millions of workers across the country. UK”. – and it would be a mistake to deny someone the necessary support during this difficult time. “
Sarah Olney MP, the Liberal Democrats’ spokesperson for business and a member of the Public Accounts Committee, said: “The licensing plan has been the lifeblood that millions of businesses and workers needed to overcome multiple closures, but the spirit of the Licensing is that it offers a blanket for those who would fight without the help of taxpayers.
“Businesses financed by royalty or billionaire owners are clearly better able to cope than most. It seems only fair that they bear their fair share of the emergency costs of this pandemic. “
The disclosures also reveal the biggest applicants for license money, many of them employing thousands of people. Pub groups Mitchells & Butlers and JD Wetherspoon were the top claimants in December, each receiving between £ 25m and £ 50m.
The Guardian has also licensed the staff. The December disclosures show a claim of between £ 50,000 and £ 100,000.
Claims made in January 2021 are expected to be published by the end of March.
