In response to Cameron dining with key City figures at Number 10 and blocking moves towards an FTT

For immediate release:

Responding to the Prime Minister dining with key City figures (see notes to editors) at Number 10 and reports he assured a donor over dinner that he would block moves towards financial transaction taxes,

David Hillman, spokesperson for the Robin Hood Tax campaign, said:

“Whilst dining with City fat cats to ensure they piled millions into his party’s coffers, the Prime Minister was blocking efforts to make the Square Mile pay their fair share to the British public.

“Instead of reassuring dinner guests he would oppose a Robin Hood Tax, Cameron should be acting to protect the millions of people struggling to put bread on the table thanks to the financial sector’s reckless past mistakes.”

Contacts:

Simon Chouffot: 07725 879 580 simon@robinhoodtax.org.uk

Jon Slater: 07876 476 403 jslater@oxfam.org.uk

Notes to editors:

From the guest list released of dinners at number 10, at least five guests are associated with the City: Michael Hintze (hedge fund manager, former Goldman Sachs), Paul Ruddock (hedge fund manager), Michael Farmer (hedge fund founder), Henry Angest (banker), Michael Spencer (icap founder)

Michael Spencer purportedly had personal reassurances from David Cameron he would block a Robin Hood Tax that would affect his business – see Guido Fawkes.

Peter Cruddas also boasted he had used his own access to lobby David Cameron to veto plans for a financial transaction tax.

The Robin Hood Tax campaign is a coalition of 115 UK organisations including Barnardo’s, Comic Relief, Oxfam, Friends of the Earth, Stamp Out Poverty and the TUC: www.robinhoodtax.org.uk

The campaign has 250,000 supporters and is endorsed by over 1,000 economists and politicians from all main political parties.

The campaign is calling for new financial sector taxes to help tackle poverty and climate change, at home and abroad.