French officials requested assistance in their investigation into alleged financial crime at Lycamobile

British officials refused to aid a French tax fraud and money-laundering investigation into a UK telecoms company, pointing out it was the biggest corporate donor to the Conservatives.

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) refused to approve a request for help from prosecutors looking to enter the offices of Lycamobile as part of an investigation into alleged financial crime.

Correspondence between the French and British officials, obtained by the website Buzzfeed, reveals that investigators in Paris made a formal request to raid the company’s London headquarters, and the home of an executive. UK officials responded in a letter on March 30 last year, claiming that the French request lacked “solid information”. It added: “It is of note that they are the biggest corporate donor to