Shoddy hack Andrew Gilligan’s missing figures


by Sunny Hundal    
9:10 am - March 18th 2012

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As predicted yesterday afternoon, Andrew Gilligan is in the Sunday Telegraph today with the story that the Taxpayers alliance are reporting Ken Livingstone to the HMRC over his accounts.

More specifically the piece says:

Matthew Elliott, chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said he had written to HMRC’s compliance unit asking for an investigation. “It looks like Mr Livingstone has effectively been getting the taxpayer to subsidise his re-election effort, paying for it out of untaxed income,” he said. “If that is the case, it is wholly wrong.”

They’ve carefully worded it because no law has been broken and an investigation isn’t going to happen. This is just a shoddy hatchet job.

I pointed out yesterday that Ken Livingstone’s accounts for the year in question have not yet been filed and aren’t due to be for many months.

But guess what is missing from Andrew Gilligan’s long piece?

His original claim that Ken has “channelled total earnings of £755,778 through the company”.

I wonder if that’s anything to do with our piece last week that pointed out Gilligan had read the accounts wrongly.

C’mon Gilligan – we know you read this blog. Tell us what happened to the £775k figure?

Isn’t it time Andrew Gilligan’s articles start getting charged towards Boris Johnson’s campaign expenditure?

[Incidentally, Gilligan has also taken out-of-context quotes posted by accountant Richard Murphy posted on this blog to support his position.]

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About the author
Sunny Hundal is editor of LC. Also: on Twitter, at Pickled Politics and Guardian CIF.
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Reader comments


1. Tim Fenton

I did wonder where the Richard Murphy quotes came from. Kudos to him for not talking to Gilligan, who couldn’t be trusted to relay anyone’s words without slanting them to his agenda.

You’re right that he reads LC, as shown by his acknowledgement of the post showing that the “£50,000 plus” figure was complete crap.

And this intervention puts the lid on the fraudulent claim by the TPA that they are “non partisan”. What more partisan act can be enacted, other than to intervene in an election campaign on the side of the Tories?

2. Mr A James

It’s all dirty tricks and mud slinging with the objective of making Ken Livingstone lose the London Mayoral election.

Befoe and during the last London Mayoral election Boris Johnson and other Tories spread rummours that Ken Livingstone and others were stealing City Hall funds and this sparked an enquiry/investigation into fraud,

Just after Boris Johnson won the Mayoralty the enquiry/investigation found that Ken Livingstone and others were totally innocent of all charges and all City Hall financially dealings were above board and totally legal.

So it appears that all the dirty tricks and lies have started by the Tories to try and deceitfully discredit Ken Livingstone yet again with the objective of winning the London Mayoral elections.

The Tories are a pathological lying machine for gain. They told complete and total lies along with all the deceit before and they are at it again. They also used outright deceit and lies to help David Cameron become prime-minister and they are doing it yet again for the second time to secure victory for Boris Johnson.

The Tories foundation’s are built on deceit and lies and always will be. You can never trust a liar, not never and the Tories whether national or local are but a plaque of deceit and lies.

3. cjcjc

Oh dear, oh dear.

“The Sunday Telegraph learnt that Mr Livingstone was twice taken to court in the 1990s for non-payment of taxes. The then Inland Revenue obtained two county court judgments of £11,423 against his then personal company, Localaction Ltd, of which he was a 99 per cent shareholder.
The judgments, at Brighton county court, were for £6,909 in April 1996 and £4,514 in July 1997. They remained unpaid for at least three years and may never have been paid. Localaction has been dissolved and the judgments have expired.
Mr Livingstone used Localaction, which was active until 2006, to set large tax-deductible expenses against his income. In 2000, as an MP, he was forced to apologise to the Commons after failing to disclose the company’s income in the Register of Members’ Interests.
During the parliamentary investigation into Localaction, it emerged that Mr Livingstone channelled at least £126,029 through the company in 1999-2000. However, its accounts for that year show taxable profits of £3,756, suggesting that Mr Livingstone claimed almost £123,000 in tax-deductible expenses. ”

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/london-mayor-election/9150576/Inquiry-as-Ken-Livingstone-saves-thousands-in-tax-bill.html

4. representingthemambo

I agree that this campaign against Livingstone utterly stinks and we should defend him vociferously against the witchhunt by an increasingly desperate rightwing media.

We shouldn’t be blind to Ken’s faults though and he still has questions to answer regarding his tax affairs.

5. claude

I wholeheartedly agree with Sunny’s use of the word “shoddy” to describe the type of “journalism”, if you can call it that, that Gilligan routinely churns out.

The way the superficiality of his anti-Ken Livingstone “hatchet job” has been torn torn to pieces is actually quite heartbreaking.

Bless you, Gilligan.

6. LondonStatto

@representingthemambo

Livingstone has brought it upon himself by condemning legal tax avoidance, whilst practising legal tax avoidance. He’s a hypocrite of the worst order and it’s to Labour’s shame that the couldn’t put a better candidate before the London electorate.

7. Sally

I’m sure the TPA will get straight onto all the untaxed income that is backing Boris in the election. Oh wait…………..

8. test

“Incidentally, Gilligan has also taken out-of-context quotes posted by accountant Richard Murphy posted on this blog to support his position.”

Well, now we know his numbers and arguments are a crock of shite if he’s quoting that cretin.

By the way, Sunny, bit rum of you to call Gilligan a ‘shoddy hack’. Pots and kettles, y’know?

9. buddyhell

I wonder how much tax our fiends at TPA are evading? Someone should have a dig.

10. David Watts

The Guardian ran the same story, so it is wierd that Sunny is pinning it on Gilligan.

http://m.guardian.co.uk/politics/blog/2012/mar/20/boris-johnson-ken-livingstone-loony-left?cat=politics&type=article

11. cynic

Why did the Beeb ever employ this deranged fascist?


Reactions: Twitter, blogs
  1. Liberal Conspiracy

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  2. Jason Brickley

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  3. random sas

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  4. Gilligan Watch

    The folks at @libcon write that Andrew Gilligan is a liar. Sounds like a familiar charge… http://t.co/uiUG0LPZ

  5. Rory Hegarty

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  6. Paul Cotterill

    Andrew Gilligan pwnd by @sunny_hundal http://t.co/mSbD2CzN Later I'll reveal Gilligan's shady links to other financially illiterate numpties

  7. leftlinks

    Liberal Conspiracy – Shoddy hack Andrew Gilligan’s missing figures http://t.co/gtQamhxl

  8. Chris Paul

    Andrew Gilligan attacks Ken Livingstone in S Telegraph, as I predicted yesterday. But misses a key number http://t.co/wB73odDF

  9. sunny hundal

    What happened to Andrew Gilligan's claim that Ken "channelled" earnings of £755,778? Why is it missing? http://t.co/wB73odDF

  10. Andrew Spooner

    What happened to Andrew Gilligan's claim that Ken "channelled" earnings of £755,778? Why is it missing? http://t.co/wB73odDF

  11. pietrgriffin

    Andrew Gilligan attacks Ken Livingstone in S Telegraph, as I predicted yesterday. But misses a key number http://t.co/wB73odDF

  12. Natacha Kennedy

    What happened to Andrew Gilligan's claim that Ken "channelled" earnings of £755,778? Why is it missing? http://t.co/wB73odDF

  13. Jonathan Kent

    What happened to Andrew Gilligan's claim that Ken "channelled" earnings of £755,778? Why is it missing? http://t.co/wB73odDF

  14. Andrew G

    “@libcon: Shoddy hack Andrew Gilligan's missing figures http://t.co/Ugc6fjzg

  15. Nemesis Republic

    Shoddy hack Andrew Gilligan's missing figures http://t.co/Za4I1nPT

  16. Gideon Osborne

    What happened to Andrew Gilligan's claim that Ken "channelled" earnings of £755,778? Why is it missing? http://t.co/wB73odDF

  17. Tristram Wyatt

    Shoddy hack Andrew Gilligan's missing figures http://t.co/Za4I1nPT

  18. BevR

    What happened to Andrew Gilligan's claim that Ken "channelled" earnings of £755,778? Why is it missing? http://t.co/wB73odDF

  19. Paul Trembath

    I am not convinced that the Financial Times should be promoting tax avoidance by company formation right now http://t.co/mSbD2CzN

  20. Get Labour Out

    Happy to research and defend Ken though http://t.co/HWq9txhz

  21. sunny hundal

    What happened to Andrew Gilligan's claim that Ken "channelled" earnings of £755,778? Why is it missing? http://t.co/wB73odDF

  22. Natasha Finlayson

    What happened to Andrew Gilligan's claim that Ken "channelled" earnings of £755,778? Why is it missing? http://t.co/wB73odDF

  23. SomersetChris

    What happened to Andrew Gilligan's claim that Ken "channelled" earnings of £755,778? Why is it missing? http://t.co/wB73odDF

  24. bill bold

    What happened to Andrew Gilligan's claim that Ken "channelled" earnings of £755,778? Why is it missing? http://t.co/wB73odDF

  25. Paul Nezandonyi

    RT @sunny_hundal: What happened to Andrew Gilligan's claim Ken "channelled" earnings of £755,778? Why is it missing? http://t.co/80vZBup5

  26. Ken Livingstone will need a better defence against HMRC investigation than this – Telegraph Blogs

    [...] also accuses me of making up a figure of £775,778 for Ken’s total earnings. I do hope he will actually look at [...]

  27. Jenny Jones

    What happened to Andrew Gilligan's claim that Ken "channelled" earnings of £755,778? Why is it missing? http://t.co/wB73odDF

  28. Jonathan Paige

    What happened to Andrew Gilligan's claim that Ken "channelled" earnings of £755,778? Why is it missing? http://t.co/wB73odDF

  29. andrew

    Shoddy hack Andrew Gilligan's missing figures | Liberal Conspiracy: Matthew Elliott, chief executive of the TaxP… http://t.co/dTqWB5od

  30. Alex Braithwaite

    Shoddy hack Andrew Gilligan’s missing figures | Liberal Conspiracy http://t.co/OZE0xFv6 via @libcon

  31. Gilligan’s attack on Ken “simply bollocks” | Liberal Conspiracy

    [...] I’ll get to that later. Gilligan has replied to my blog-post of Saturday evening. [...]





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