David Cameron has vowed to place tax evasion at the heart of the G8 summit - set to be held in the UK this June.

In a letter to fellow G8 leaders, the Prime Minister said that "advancing trade, ensuring tax compliance and promoting greater transparency" would form the central plank of the summit.

The commitment to tackle the issue follows in the wake of the Commons' Public Accounts Committee grilling of Google, Amazon and Starbucks chiefs in November over their controversial tax policies which saw them pay little or no UK tax.

The PM said: 'We know that in a globalised world, no one country can, on its own, effectively tackle tax evasion and aggressive avoidance. But as a group of eight major economies together we have an opportunity to galvanise collective international action.

'We can lead the way in sharing the information to tackle abuses of the system, including in developing countries, so that Governments can collect the taxes due to them. We can work together to sign more countries up to the international standards. And we can examine the case for strengthening those standards themselves - whether by improving existing standards or looking at new ones.

'These are complex questions, and will involve honest and detailed discussion about the right approach. But I do believe that as leaders, we all have a common interest in being able to tell our taxpayers who work hard and pay their fair share of taxes, that we will make sure others do the same.

The UK takes on the presidency of the G8 in June - for the first time since 2005, when the summit was held at Gleneagles in Scotland. This year's event will be held at Lough Erne golf resort in Fermanagh, Northern Ireland.