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A former minister has written to tax inspectors over claims they failed to raid a company who were under investigation, citing the firm’s £2 million donations to the Conservative Party.

It comes after an HM Revenue and Customs official mentioned the donations amid a discussion about whether to raid French firm Lycamobile's offices in connection with an investigation into its financial affairs.

Lycamobile denies the allegations that were being investigated.

Treasury committee chair Nicky Morgan today published a letter to HMRC, saying it was “extremely troubling to see press reports that HMRC refused to help another country pursue its investigations into money laundering and tax fraud.”

She added: “It’s also concerning that, as implied in the leaked email, HMRC’s actions against those suspected of economic crime may be influenced by their political donations or high-profile connections.”

(Image: oneclickuk.com)

Ms Morgan said she would raise the case with Chancellor Philip Hammond, who is giving evidence before the committee later today.

The e-mail, leaked to BuzzFeed News and verified as genuine by HMRC sources to the Mirror, was reportedly sent on 30 March 2017 from HMRC's "mutual legal assistance team" to French investigators looking into the firm's affairs.

The HMRC e-mail said "flimsy evidence" meant a judge was likely to reject an application to search premises linked to firm.

But it also said: "It is of note that they are the biggest corporate donor to the Conservative party led by Prime Minister Theresa May and donated 1.25m Euros to the Prince Charles Trust in 2012."

The HMRC e-mail included its comment about Tory donations in the context of "background" amid a lengthy explanation of what action might be taken against the firm.

It added: "We wish to assist the French authorities as much as possible.

"But there is a need to point out where an application for search warrants is unlikely to succeed due to lack of solid information.”

An HMRC source admitted it was "clumsy and regrettable" that the comment about Tory donations was included and it "shouldn't have been put there".

The same source insisted it "in no way affected" the tax office's processes, which were based purely on the facts.