LABOUR demanded answers from Chancellor George Osborne yesterday after the revelation that hundreds of super-rich HSBC customers had struck out-of-court settlements rather than face prosecution for tax avoidance.

Treasury spokeswoman Shabana Mahmood issued the challenge over sensational leaks that revealed how a Swiss subsidiary of the bank actively encouraged thousands of multimillionaires to hide cash from the taxman.

The fine detail of a dossier including 130,000 potential illegal tax evaders compiled by French-Italian whistleblower Herve Falciani eight years ago was only revealed publicly this week following a leak.