Lin Homer has responded but not confirmed whether the HMRC will investigate cash payments at News International

Text of letter for those who can’t see iframes:

Date 24 February 2012

Dear Mr Watson,

Thank you for your letter of 17 February 2012 about allegations of payments made by News International and their subsidiary companies to public officials and the tax implications.

As you acknowledge in your letter there are several ongoing police investigations into aspects of the allegations to which you refer. I can confirm that we will look to remain in contact with the police as their investigations develop. All information received by HMRC into possible non-payment of tax is assessed and a decision made on the most appropriate course of action. However, as you may be aware, HMRC is bound by legislative obligations which impose a high level of confidentiality over all of the taxpayer data it holds; this means that we may not disclose any information about a particular taxpayer including updates on any steps taken in consequence of informations received.

Please accept my thanks for taking the time to raise the concern with me.

Yours sincerely,

Lin Homer
Chief Executive.