According to a BBC investigation based on Paradise Paper documents supplied by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), Hamilton avoided VAT payments on the purchase of a £16.5m luxury jet through the use of a complex leasing deal signed between companies based on the Isle of Man.

Hamilton has denied any wrongdoing. A statement from his representative said: ‘As a global sportsman who pays tax in a large number of countries, Lewis relies upon a team of professional advisers who manage his affairs.

‘Those advisers have assured Lewis that everything is above board and the matter is now in the hands of his lawyers.’

Following the allegations, the Isle of Man government has invited the Treasury to conduct an assessment of the practice for the importation of business jets into the EU through the Isle of Man, with a focus on the VAT treatment of aircraft leasing arrangements. This is in addition to a review which is already underway conducted by the jurisdiction’s own tax authority. That review started in October 2016 and is aimed at testing the accuracy and efficacy of declarations made to it by those businesses.

Of approximately 262 live VAT registrations in the sector, Isle of Man Customs and Excise has conducted 33 audits to date and a further 13 audits are currently in progress.

Howard Quayle, Isle of Man chief minister, said: ‘‘The VAT treatment of the importation of aircraft into the EU is a highly technical and complex area in which the Isle of Man follows the same policy, laws and rules as the UK.

‘The Isle of Man government works closely with HMRC and holds quarterly governance meetings on a range of VAT issues. In light of the claims made by the ICIJ, we have asked the Treasury to look at all elements involved in the process of the importation of business jets via the Isle of Man into the EU.’ The scope of the assessment by Treasury is to be defined and published in November, with the work being completed in 2018.'

Further allegations as a result of the Paradise Papers have also included claims that three actors in Mrs Brown’s Boys have used a tax avoidance scheme to divert £2m into Mauritius-based companies. Actors Patrick Houlihan and Martin and Fiona Delany are said to have transferred their fees into companies in Mauritius and sent money back as loans. None of the three has made a comment on this.

Meg Hillier, chair of the public accounts committee (PAC) used the opening questions of yesterday’s evidence session on HMRC’s performance in 2016/17 to raise a number of questions about how much HMRC knew about the Paradise Papers and what use they will make of the data.

HMRC CEO Jon Thompson told MPs the department had written to the ICIJ two weeks ago requesting access to the documents, but had not received a reply. Based the information currently in the public domain, he said there was one example of data being made available of which HMRC was not aware and which would be followed up.

Thompson told MPs that since the Panama Papers data leak in 2016, HMRC had made ‘significant’ improvements in the way in which the department ‘ingested data from other sources’. HMRC now has a specialist facility called risk and intelligence services, dedicated to looking at ‘ingested data’ so that interventions against individuals and companies are risk-based.

Thompson also reported that as a result of the earlier Panama Papers leaked information, HMRC has launched 66 criminal or civil investigations, resulting in four arrests and six people interviewed under caution. He put the additional tax yield at £100m, and told MPs that HMRC had paid for some of the information used.

Report by Pat Sweet