'Hypocrite' Harman refuses to answer questions about Labour's major funders

Daily Mail
"Labour was accused of 'rank hypocrisy' last night over non-doms after Harriet Harman refused to answer questions about her party's major donors.The deputy leader refused to say whether some of Labour's biggest backers paid all their taxes in the UK, insisting it was a 'private matter'.Her refusal to come clean follows criticism from a string of ministers over the tax status of Tory donor Lord Ashcroft.Business Secretary Lord Mandelson last week insisted that Labour should be 'clear and upfront' about whether its backers were full British taxpayers.Labour is estimated to have taken more than £10million since 2001 from non-doms - those who legally avoid paying tax on their overseas earnings - including Lord Paul, Sir Ronald Cohen and William Bollinger.But in an interview with BBC1's Andrew Marr Show, Miss Harman repeatedly refused to discuss their tax status, insisting she did not know whether they were non-doms.She said: 'The tax status of donors is not an issue for electoral law. People's tax affairs is [sic] a private matter.'