London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Aug 22, 2025

Two Senior Tory MPs Got A Free Trip To The Cayman Islands, Then Defended The Tax Haven Over Secretive Company Ownership

Two senior Conservative MPs vowed to defend the Cayman Islands' company ownership battle with the UK - while on a free trip to the Caribbean tax haven last month worth nearly £17,000.

Tory grandees Sir Graham Brady and Sir Michael Fallon travelled to the islands for five days at the end of June on a lavish junket paid for by the Cayman government.

The tax haven, along with other British overseas territories such as the British Virgin Islands, has been at the centre of a major transparency row over company rules which allow the superrich to conceal their assets behind shell corporations registered there. Transparency campaigners say these jurisdictions play a key role in facilitating corruption, money laundering, tax evasion, and other illicit financial activities.

Theresa May’s government had sought to force overseas territories to publish unprecedented levels of information about who owns companies in their jurisdictions, but delayed the attempted crackdown following opposition from places such as the Caymans.

Last year, the UK’s National Crime Agency warned that its efforts to combat money laundering on the islands were being frustrated by the Cayman government. "We can generally get from them clear, unambiguous beneficial-ownership information,” the agency’s director, Donald Toon, said in relation to overseas territories, “but we are having a difficulty with Cayman.”

The Cayman government is concerned that the new UK government, led by Boris Johnson, may impose more transparent beneficial-ownership registers on its overseas territories in order to make it harder for the ultimate controllers of offshore assets to keep their identities hidden.

On June 27, Brady, who until recently was chair of the powerful 1922 Committee of backbench Tories, and Fallon, the former defence secretary, flew to the territory in their roles as members of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for the Cayman Islands.

The trip was ostensibly organised to mark the 60th anniversary of the Cayman Constitution, with the itinerary including meetings with the Cayman Islands’ governor, as well as with government ministers and members of the opposition.

Brady’s wife also made the trip, with the couple’s flights and accommodation, worth £10,459, provided by the Cayman Islands Government Office. The Cayman government paid £4,241 so the Bradys’ flights could be rearranged, according to the register of members’ interests.

Fallon declared travel and accommodation worth £6,217.99, paid for by the Cayman government.

But both Brady and Fallon did more than celebrate the happy occasion on behalf of the UK, BuzzFeed News can reveal.

In a televised interview with local TV station Cayman 27, Brady defended the territory’s position on beneficial-ownership registers, claiming that open public registers could leave those who own assets in the Caymans “exposed to danger”.

Under the headline “UK MPs Pledge to Keep Up Fight on Beneficial Ownership Registries”, Cayman 27 reported: “Those representing Cayman in London said they will continue to press for fairness in the push for access to information on those who own assets here.”

Brady told the channel: “I think it is important we continue to make the case for a sensible balance that protects the rights and the safety of the some of the individuals who might be exposed to danger from completely open public registers.”

Speaking in front of a banner emblazoned with the words “Celebrate Cayman”, the senior Tory MP added that the UK should “recognise the great steps forward and the very genuine spirit of engagement shown by Cayman”.

Fallon was quoted by Cayman 27 as saying the issue of beneficial ownership was a matter of securing the Cayman Islands’ future.

“There’s a success story here, an enormous success story that helps add value to Britain, adds value to British pensions, and is a well-regulated financial centre for the rest of the world. There is a success story here and we should not jeopardise that,” the former defence secretary said.

Brady told BuzzFeed News: “The Cayman government rightly makes all this information freely available to tax authorities and law enforcement agencies around the world.”

Fallon did not respond to a request for comment.

Eric Bush, the Cayman representative in London, has previously spoken about the territory’s efforts lobbying the All-Party Parliamentary Group on the Cayman Islands.

“Visits to the UK by the Cayman Islands premier and ministers have proved invaluable in reestablishing ourselves in a positive manner within Westminster and with parliamentarians,” he has said.

“Having an active and engaging All-Party Parliamentary Group is very beneficial for the Cayman Islands. As matters arise within the UK or European Union, generally, or specifically in Parliament or in Brussels, we now have a core group of UK parliamentarians that will fight our cause with relevant, up-to-date information to ward off opposition, or those who would intend us ill will.”

Labour MP Margaret Hodge, the former chair of the Public Accounts Committee who has campaigned for greater transparency in British overseas territories, told BuzzFeed News:

“Most people will be shocked that two senior members of Parliament accepted expensive free trips to a British tax haven. The only reason for giving these MPs a free trip was to encourage them to thwart and oppose the will of Parliament where there is a strong majority in favour of open registers of beneficial ownership.

“There is a simple reason for our wanting this transparency: Transparency is a powerful tool in stopping money laundering and tax evasion. All UK MPs should support this move.”

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Ukraine Declares De Facto War on Hungary and Slovakia with Terror Drone Strikes on Their Gas Lifeline
Animated K-pop Musical ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Becomes Netflix’s Most-Watched Original Animated Film
New York Appeals Court Voids Nearly $500 Million Civil Fraud Penalty Against Trump While Upholding Fraud Liability
Elon Musk tweeted, “Europe is dying”
Far-Right Activist Convicted of Incitement Changes Gender and Demands: "Send Me to a Women’s Prison" | The Storm in Germany
Hungary Criticizes Ukraine: "Violating Our Sovereignty"
Will this be the first country to return to negative interest rates?
Child-free hotels spark controversy
North Korea is where this 95-year-old wants to die. South Korea won’t let him go. Is this our ally or a human rights enemy?
Hong Kong Launches Regulatory Regime and Trials for HKD-Backed Stablecoins
China rehearses September 3 Victory Day parade as imagery points to ‘loyal wingman’ FH-97 family presence
Trump Called Viktor Orbán: "Why Are You Using the Veto"
Horror in the Skies: Plane Engine Exploded, Passengers Sent Farewell Messages
MSNBC Rebrands as MS NOW Amid Comcast’s Cable Spin-Off
AI in Policing: Draft One Helps Speed Up Reports but Raises Legal and Ethical Concerns
Shame in Norway: Crown Princess’s Son Accused of Four Rapes
Apple Begins Simultaneous iPhone 17 Production in India and China
A Robot to Give Birth: The Chinese Announcement That Shakes the World
Finnish MP Dies by Suicide in Parliament Building
Outrage in the Tennis World After Jannik Sinner’s Withdrawal Storm
William and Kate Are Moving House – and the New Neighbors Were Evicted
Class Action Lawsuit Against Volkswagen: Steering Wheel Switches Cause Accidents
Taylor Swift on the Way to the Super Bowl? All the Clues Stirring Up Fans
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Apple Expands Social Media Presence in China With RedNote Account Ahead of iPhone 17 Launch
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Cambridge Dictionary Adds 'Skibidi,' 'Delulu,' and 'Tradwife' Amid Surge of Online Slang
Bill Barr Testifies No Evidence Implicated Trump in Epstein Case; DOJ Set to Release Records
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
The CEO Who Replaced 80% of Employees for the AI Revolution: "I Would Do It Again"
Emails Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Character.ai Bets on Future of AI Companionship
China Ramps Up Tax Crackdown on Overseas Investments
Japanese Office Furniture Maker Expands into Bomb Shelter Market
Intel Shares Surge on Possible U.S. Government Investment
Hurricane Erin Threatens U.S. East Coast with Dangerous Surf
EU Blocks Trade Statement Over Digital Rule Dispute
EU Sends Record Aid as Spain Battles Wildfires
JPMorgan Plans New Canary Wharf Tower
Zelenskyy and his allies say they will press Trump on security guarantees
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Escalating Clashes in Serbia as Anti-Government Protests Spread Nationwide
The Drought in Britain and the Strange Request from the Government to Delete Old Emails
Category 5 Hurricane in the Caribbean: 'Catastrophic Storm' with Winds of 255 km/h
"No, Thanks": The Mathematical Genius Who Turned Down 1.5 Billion Dollars from Zuckerberg
The surprising hero, the ugly incident, and the criticism despite victory: "Liverpool’s defense exposed in full"
Digital Humans Move Beyond Sci-Fi: From Virtual DJs to AI Customer Agents
YouTube will start using AI to guess your age. If it’s wrong, you’ll have to prove it
Jellyfish Swarm Triggers Shutdown at Gravelines Nuclear Power Station in Northern France
×