Thanks goodness for Herve Falciani . If it wasn’t for him in 2008 whisking away 106,000 records of illegal tax evasion that via the French authorities reached the UK government in 2010 we wouldn’t know of the degree this British bank colluded with tax evasion by British citizens. But Herver also tried engaging the UK Tax people in 2008 but was blanked.

But what of the others banks who Herve is clear are just as involved in this industrial scale tax evasion?

The Swiss authorities keep trying to extradite Mr.Falciani for whistleblowing. Clearly they want to collude with illegal tax evasion. What disreputable behaviour for a nation state.

As the Lib Dem Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has pointed out the HSBC scandal demonstrated that tax avoidance was a “sophisticated global business”.

Adding: “Tax evasion is illegal, the full force of the law needs to be brought against tax evaders. Tax avoidance, where people do everything to avoid paying their tax, is something a lot of people rightly don’t like. We made 40 changes to the tax code, we’ve put a billion pounds extra in to enforcement, we’ve recouped £80bn of tax.”

Personally it comes across as a sophisticated global racket. This is organised crime.

1,100 Brits have now paid £135million in tax, interest on tax and fines.

We should go further. Their names should be published. Who are these people?They are clearly not fit to be company directors and should be banned from such roles. If they have gongs they should be striped of them. Tax evasion on this scale is the behaviour of organised criminals. They are not Robin Hoods. They have behaved as common criminals and should be treated as such by our society.

But I fear it will all be swiftly forgotten. The super-rich will close ranks. They will remake their money circulating in our societies upper echelons. Depressing.

The Government has the powers to prosecute and make examples. The state can remove gongs. Directors can be banned for their cmpanies not paying correct tax. But all this should have started in 2008 when the UK tax people were first alerted.