Inside the Revenue

Lawrence Champion, a middle manager in the capital gains clearance section of the UK Inland Revenue, has been sentenced to six months in prison after he pleaded guilty to 13 counts of insider trading contrary to section 52(1) of the Criminal Justice Act 1993 between August 1997 and December 1998. He admitted profiting from the price sensitive information that he received from companies that had inquired whether their strategic takeover and merger operations would influence their tax position. The judge said that Champion had betrayed his position of trust through “stupid and irresponsible lapses”. Nicholas Montague, chairman of the Inland Revenue said that security measures had since been tightened. Staff who deal with price-sensitive data are now required to instruct their managers about all security transactions that they undertake while employed in the clearance section and after they leave. Mr Montague said that procedures are now in line with best practice in the City and that the Revenue had acted speedily in the case of Mr Champion in order to reassure financial institutions and the markets of its integrity.