HMRC criticised over 'tax fugitives'

The HMRC has added 10 new faces to its gallery of most-wanted

Only one of the UK's 20 most-wanted alleged fraudsters and tax evaders named on a government list last year has been caught, it has emerged.

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) published the names and photographs of people it said had cost taxpayers millions in lost revenue, but 19 remain at large.

Labour said the arrest rate suggested the project had been a "huge failure".

But HMRC said it had intelligence on a number of suspects and 10 more faces have now been added to its gallery.

It said last year's appeal had helped provide intelligence on 15 of the alleged offenders, while one was arrested.

John Nugent, who was 53 at the time, was caught in the US after the authorities there carried out checks on their systems and found he had overstayed on a tourist visa.

In May, he was sentenced to four-and-a-half years in prison.

The next mugshot to be added to the gallery was Anthony Edward Judge, who HMRC said was wanted for his role in more than £250,000 of tax fraud and had been on the run for 10 years after failing to appear at Canterbury Crown Court.

He was detained at Heathrow Airport in July when travelling on a false passport, HMRC said, and has since pleaded guilty to money laundering.

'Relentlessly pursued'

"Tax fraud and evasion are illegal and will not be tolerated," said Chancellor George Osborne.

"Millions of hard-working people pay their taxes and it is they who are being defrauded. The government has stepped up HMRC's enforcement activities to enable them to pursue tax cheats relentlessly around the world."

The original gallery included a picture of John Nugent, who is greyed out in this image

But shadow Treasury minister Catherine McKinnell said that it was a "huge failure" that one year on, so many on the most-wanted list had still not been caught.

"At a time when families are facing a cost-of-living crisis, it's even more important that everyone pays their fair share of tax. The government needs to do better," she said.

The new list of suspects includes people being pursued for alleged VAT fraud, tax evasion, and money laundering.

Their pictures are being published on the HMRC's flickr channel.

They include one man, wanted for evasion of excise duty, who was involved in a car chase in the Irish Republic. A number of the group could be in the UK, the tax authority said.

HMRC is searching for these people, who have all been identified, and has appealed for help by asking anyone with information to contact Crimestoppers.