Mohammed Bashforth, 62, from Wakefield and Daniel Giles, 51, from Coventry, were jailed at Leeds Crown Court on 9 January for conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation, and conspiracy to cheat the public revenue.

Giles was handed an 11-year sentence, with Bashforth given five years. Giles admitted to a further separate tax evasion charge relating to unpaid income tax between April 2008 and April 2014. The court heard that Giles had not filed a tax return for six years and owed HMRC a sum believed to be over £800k

A third man, Kevin Phelan, 62, from Omagh in Northern Ireland, found guilty of the same offences will be sentenced at a later date.