Rise in suicide attempts linked to HMRC tax crackdown as MPs criticise ‘sham’ review into loan charge schemes

Published

4 weeks ago

April 14, 2025

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Four more people have attempted to take their own life in relation to the loan charge scandal, which has left tens of thousands of contractors facing huge bills for tax their employers should have paid, Sky News has learnt.

HMRC has made 17 referrals to the police watchdog (Independent Office for Police Conduct) over the suicide attempts of 14 people, up from the 13 referrals of 10 people previously known about in October 2023.

The figures, revealed in response to a Freedom of Information request by Sky News, come on top of the 10 known suicides of people caught up in the controversial tax crackdown, which has alarmed MPs across the political spectrum.

The loan charge was announced in George Osborne’s 2016 budget and made freelancers liable for years of retrospective income and national insurance tax after being paid their salaries in loans.

HMRC has been accused of harassing ordinary people who were victims of mis-selling, as the arrangement was widely promoted by lawyers, accountants and tax professionals in the 2000s and 2010s.

Labour has launched an independent review into the policy but campaigners have branded it a “sham” and “cover-up” as it doesn’t look at the principle of the loan charge, only ways to make people settle.

‘Trapped in an endless nightmare’

Father-of-three Ray Newton is one thousands of people who paid an umbrella company to manage his fees while working as an IT contractor for Barclays Bank from 2009-2010.

They paid him in tax-free loans on the assurance it was “completely above board”, but in 2016 he was hit with an unexpected HMRC bill of £16,000.

Ray paid it off, but last year he suddenly faced demands for another £15,000 in income tax and £14,000 in interest that had been accruing the whole time without his knowledge. The “bombshell bill” also included £12,000 of inheritance tax on the loans despite them being classed as wages.

“Instead of going for the tax that was avoided they are going for the jugular,” said Ray, 70.

The bill arrived in the post after eight years of sporadic letters from HMRC saying Ray still needed to settle but not explaining why or by how much, often ignoring him when he inquired. It nearly destroyed him.

“I was literally begging – please tell me what it is I owe. It made me look as though I was a bad person… my wife actually left me and I got really in a state over this,” he said.

“I was having counselling, I was on antidepressant drugs, I was on sleeping pills. You know, my whole world was sort of falling apart. It was like being trapped in an endless nightmare.

“I did attempt suicide but I was stopped by a member of the public.”

Ray is now in a better place and is back with his wife, while HMRC has recently accepted the inheritance tax isn’t owed and giving him misleading or incorrect information.

But he is sceptical about the review.

“The government can’t afford or don’t want to afford the implications of a proper inquiry. This is going to be a whitewash.”

HMRC says it takes the wellbeing of all taxpayers seriously and is committed to identifying and supporting customers who need extra help with their tax affairs. It says it has made significant improvements to this service over the last few years.   

Sky News spoke to several loan charge victims who said while they didn’t dispute owing tax, HMRC’s chaotic communication was making it harder to settle and move on.

“The impact has been devastating”

For father-of-two Stephen Bishop, the long drawn-out battle contributed to the breakdown of his marriage and led him to express suicidal thoughts.

He was told to join a loan scheme by the company which hired him and has since faced demands in unpaid tax ranging from £80,000 – more than he’d earn in a year – to £20,000 while a payment plan set up in 2018 was randomly cancelled.

It took many more years to reach a new settlement and after £18,000 was finally agreed upon, he was whacked with a £10,000 interest bill for the late payment.

HMRC continued to contact him after he requested to go through his accountant due to his deteriorating mental health, with an inspector even showing up at his door.

“I can honestly understand why so many people have taken their own lives over this. The impact has been devastating on me,” he said.

What is being reviewed?

Since 2016, HMRC has agreed 25,000 settlements with employers and individuals over their use of loan schemes, which will raise around £4.2bn in revenue.

However, over 40,000 people and 5,000 employers are yet to settle.

Labour promised an “independent review” in opposition, with Treasury minister James Murray saying the loan charge had “become a nightmare for ordinary people… who are the victims of mis-selling and face financial ruin”.

After winning the election Mr Murray also attended a “harrowing meeting” where many loan charge victims “broke down in tears”, according to Greg Smith, Tory co-chairman of the Loan Charge and Taxpayer Fairness all-party parliamentary group (APPG), who suggested the “partial review” was down to “wilful ignorance or the bottom line” and warned it could lead to more suicides if people continue to face financial ruin.

Campaigners hoped the inquiry would look at the principle of retrospective tax legislation, the role of promoters who made profits from the schemes and HMRC’s conduct.

However, it will only examine the barriers facing those who have yet to settle and recommend ways for them to so do by the summer. And it is being run by former HMRC boss Ray McCann, leading some to question its independence.

‘Internal stitch-up’

Sir Iain Duncan Smith, former Tory leader and another long-term critic of the loan charge, called the review an “internal HMRC stitch-up… ran by an ex-HMRC honcho”.

He said the loan charge is a “disaster” made by the tax office for being slow to crack down on the loan schemes and the government should “draw a line under this and write the debt off”.

“It seems to me any MP that goes to be a minister of the Treasury gets taken prisoner by them. This should be a full-scale review where apportioning blame is part of this,” Mr Duncan Smith added.

In a letter responding to concerns of the APPG, Mr Murray said it would have been “irresponsible for the government not to acknowledge the challenging fiscal circumstances that we inherited” and “that is the context in which this review takes place”.

He also defended Mr McCann’s independence, saying the former president of the Chartered Institute for Taxation is “a highly respected figure in the tax world whose name was suggested by one of the loan charge campaigners”.

The government declined to comment further while the review is ongoing.

Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK

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Peter Sullivan who has spent 38 years in jail for murder has conviction quashed

Published

6 hours ago

May 13, 2025

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Peter Sullivan who has spent 38 years in jail for murder has conviction quashed

A man who has spent 38 years in prison for murder has had his conviction quashed – but insisted he is “not angry” or “bitter”.

The Court of Appeal ruling in the case of Peter Sullivan ends what’s thought to be the longest-running miscarriage of justice in British history.

He was found guilty of the 1986 murder of 21-year-old Diane Sindall, who had been beaten, raped and left in an alleyway in Bebington, Merseyside.

Mr Sullivan – who was jailed in 1987 – had always maintained his innocence and first tried to challenge his conviction in 2016, but the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) declined to refer the case, and he lost his own appeal bid in 2019.

Two years later, he again asked the CCRC to refer his case and new tests, ordered by the commission, revealed Mr Sullivan’s DNA was not present on samples preserved at the time.

At a hearing on Tuesday, lawyers for Mr Sullivan told the Court of Appeal in London that the new evidence showed that Ms Sindall’s killer “was not the defendant”.

Mr Sullivan attended the hearing via video link from HMP Wakefield, listening to his conviction being quashed with his head down and arms folded before appearing to weep and putting his hand to his mouth.

A relative in court also wept as the judgment was read out.

‘The truth shall set you free’

In a statement following the ruling, Mr Sullivan – now 68 – said: “I lost my liberty four decades ago over a crime I did not commit.

“What happened to me was very wrong, but does not detract that what happened… was a heinous and most terrible loss of life.”

He added: “It is said the truth shall set you free. It is unfortunate that it does not give a timescale as we advance towards resolving the wrongs done to me.

“I am not angry, I am not bitter.

“I am simply anxious to return to my loved ones and family as I’ve got to make the most of what is left of the existence I am granted in this world.”

Outside court, Mr Sullivan’s sister Kim Smith said she was “ecstatic” at seeing her brother’s conviction quashed.

She told reporters: “We lost Peter for 39 years and at the end of the day, it’s not just us; Peter hasn’t won, and neither has the Sindall family. They’ve lost their daughter, they are not going to get her back.

“We’ve got Peter back and now we’ve got to try and build a life around him again. We feel sorry for the Sindalls and it’s such a shame this has had to happen in the first place.”

Barristers for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said the DNA evidence was “sufficient fundamentally to cast doubt on the safety of the conviction” and that there was “no credible basis on which the appeal can be opposed”.

Lord Justice Holroyde, sitting with Mr Justice Goss and Mr Justice Bryan, said in light of the new DNA evidence “it is impossible to regard the appellant’s conviction as safe” as he quashed the conviction.

Hunt for DNA match

Merseyside Police has confirmed detectives are now “carrying out an extensive investigation in a bid to identify who the new DNA profile belongs to, as to date there is no match on the national DNA database”.

Detectives are also contacting individuals identified in the original investigation to request voluntary DNA samples.

That initial investigation was the largest in the force’s history and, for many officers, the “frenzied” nature of the attack made it the worst case they had ever encountered.

Ms Sindall, who was engaged to be married, had just left her shift as a part-time barmaid at a pub in Bebington when her small blue van ran out of petrol.

She was walking to an all-night garage when she was attacked.

Mr Sullivan, who was 29 at the time and described as a loner, initially denied the attack but later signed a confession.

Questions have since been raised about whether he had proper legal representation during police interviews. Evidence related to bite marks on Ms Sindall’s body, considered crucial at the trial, has also since been called into question.

At the time of Mr Sullivan’s trial in 1987, DNA technology was not available and subsequent requests for new tests had been refused.

‘Nobody felt safe’

On the grass verge close to where Ms Sindall’s body was found, a memorial stone has been placed in memory of her and “and all of our sisters who have been raped and murdered”.

Her murder sent a chill through the community and led to the creation of the Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre on Merseyside. “Nobody felt safe, it was a very scary time,” said the centre’s Jo Wood.

She says the uncertainty has resurfaced. “There’s someone out who killed Diane Sindall,” said solicitor Ms Myatt.

“The biggest fear we’ve got is of the unknown and now we’ve got an unknown. We don’t know who it might be. Who knows who this person is? Are we going to encounter him?

“We might have encountered him, we don’t know, we just know that he’s out there.”

Ms Sindall’s family told Sky News they did not want to comment on the case.

Mel John, landlord of the pub where Ms Sindall worked on the night of her death, said: “I’m glad he’s being released if he’s innocent. It has been a long time.”

Mr Sullivan is also aware, his solicitor says, of the impact on Ms Sindall’s family.

“We are very sensitive and respectful to the fact that there is a victim, Diane Sindall and her family, that will be affected by this process,” the solicitor said.

UK

Tory MP Patrick Spencer charged with sexual assaults at Groucho Club

Published

6 hours ago

May 13, 2025

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Tory MP Patrick Spencer charged with sexual assaults at Groucho Club

Tory MP Patrick Spencer has been charged with two counts of sexual assault at London’s Groucho Club.

The charges follow two alleged incidents involving two different women at the private members’ club, in Soho, in August 2023, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said.

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Mr Spencer – who is the Conservative MP for Central Suffolk and North Ipswich – will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Monday 16 June.

A Conservative Party spokesman said Mr Spencer, 37, has been suspended by the Tories and had the whip withdrawn.

The Metropolitan Police said he was charged after attending a voluntary interview at a London police station on 13 March this year.

Frank Ferguson, head of the CPS special crime and counter terrorism division, said: “Following a review of the evidence provided by the Metropolitan Police Service, we have authorised two counts of sexual assault against Patrick Spencer MP.

“The charges follow two alleged incidents involving two separate women at the Groucho Club in central London in August 2023.

“The Crown Prosecution Service reminds all concerned that criminal proceedings against this defendant are now active and that he has the right to a fair trial.

“It is extremely important that there should be no reporting, commentary or sharing of information online which could in any way prejudice these proceedings.”

Mr Spencer was first elected to Parliament last year with a majority of 4,290.

It is understood he was asked not to attend the parliamentary estate by the Tory chief whip while police enquiries were ongoing.

A Conservative Party spokesman said: “The Conservative Party believes in integrity and high standards. We have taken immediate action.

“Patrick Spencer MP has been suspended from the Conservative Party, and the whip withdrawn, with immediate effect.

“The Conservative Party cannot comment further on an ongoing legal case.”

The Groucho Club, in Dean Street, opened in 1985 and became a renowned meeting place for A-list celebrities and others, including actors, comedians and media executives.

The club was named after the comedian and actor Groucho Marx, who reportedly once said he would refuse to join any club that would have him as a member.

It was originally set up as a more relaxed alternative to traditional gentlemen’s clubs, according to the venue’s website, which adds that members should be in the creative industry “and share the club’s maverick spirit”.

Before becoming an MP, Mr Spencer worked in finance for private equity firm IPGL, a company chaired by his father, former Conservative Party treasurer Lord Michael Spencer.

He later took a job at the Centre for Social Justice think thank before becoming a senior adviser at the Department for Education.

He made his maiden speech in the Commons in July last year during a debate on the MPs’ code of conduct relating to second jobs, during which he said the “most important thing to the people across my constituency” was “restoring a sense of moral probity and public spiritedness to our political system”.

Sky News has contacted Mr Spencer for comment.

UK

Man arrested over arson attacks after fire at Sir Keir Starmer’s house

Published

12 hours ago

May 13, 2025

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Man arrested over arson attacks after fire at Sir Keir Starmer's house

A 21-year-old man has been arrested over a series of arson attacks, police have said, after a fire at a house owned by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.

The suspect was arrested in the early hours of Tuesday on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life, according to the Metropolitan Police.

He remains in custody.

Emergency services were called to fires at the doors of two homes in north London within 24 hours of each other – one just after 1.35am on Monday in Kentish Town and the other on Sunday in Islington. Both properties are linked to Sir Keir.

Detectives were also checking a vehicle fire last Thursday on the same street as the Kentish Town property to see whether it is connected.

Part of the area was cordoned off as police and London Fire Brigade (LFB) investigators examined the scene.

Neighbours described hearing a loud bang and said police officers were looking for a projectile.

The prime minister is understood to still own the home, which was damaged by fire on Monday, but nobody was hurt. Pictures showed scorching at the entrance to the property.

Sir Keir used to live there before he and his family moved into 10 Downing Street after Labour won last year’s general election. It is believed the property is being rented out.

In the early hours of Sunday, firefighters dealt with a small fire at the front door of a house converted into flats in nearby Islington, which is also linked to the prime minister.

In a statement, police said: “As a precaution and due to the property having previous connections with a high-profile public figure, officers from the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command are leading the investigation into this fire.

“Enquiries are ongoing to establish what caused it. All three fires are being treated as suspicious at this time, and enquiries remain ongoing.”

The prime minister’s official spokesman said: “I can only say that the prime minister thanks the emergency services for their work and it is subject to a live investigation. So I can’t comment any further.”

Kemi Badenoch has condemned the suspected arson attacks.

Writing on X, the Conservative leader said: “This is a shocking incident. My thoughts are with the prime minister and his family. No one should face these sorts of threats, let alone people in public service.

“It’s an attack on our democracy and must never be tolerated.”

Shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick told Sky News on Tuesday: “It’s important that the prime minister and anyone in public life has their family, their homes, protected.

“It is absolutely wrong, disgraceful, for any individual to take the kind of action that we saw against the prime minister’s home.”