Ingenious Media loses legal case over Hartnett comments

Ingenious Media, promoters of controversial film investment schemes, has lost its legal appeal over opening a judicial review into public comments made by a senior HMRC official about its work and its chief executive, which the company claimed breached HMRC’s duties and broke the law and for which it was seeking an estimated £20m damages, reports Pat Sweet

The latest decision follows on from an earlier case at the High Court in September 2013, which Ingenious also lost. [The Queen on the application of (1) Ingenious Media Holdings plc (2) Patrick McKenna and The Commissioners for her Majesty's Revenue & Customs [2013] EWHC 3258 (Admin) Case No: CO/9858/2012].

Now the Court of Appeal has also decided in HMRC’s favour over the matter. [The Queen on the application of Ingenious Media Holdings Plc & Anr and Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs [2015] EWCA Civ 173 Case No: C1/2013/3302].

Both courts heard the case concerned a meeting in June 2012 between two journalists from the Times newspaper and Dave Hartnett, who was HMRC’s permanent secretary for tax at the time, to discuss tax avoidance schemes.

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