A CALL from a leading Guernsey finance industry figure for the Ministry of Justice to intervene in the so-called tax havens row was sidestepped by UK officials yesterday.

An MoJ spokesman said it was entirely a matter for HM Treasury to deal with and directed all enquiries to its Whitehall offices.

‘The Treasury press office is taking questions on this and should be able to help you,’ he said.

HM Treasury spokesmen, however, were insistent that they would not comment on who was responsible because it was not up to them and referred enquiries to the MoJ.

Back at the MoJ, the press official again said: ‘The Treasury office will take this on. They are definitely the right place for it.

‘It would be for Treasury to deal with that one because it is a tax matter.’

The exchange followed a call from Association of Guernsey Banks chairman Ken Gibbs for the MoJ to represent Guernsey in case it is put on any blacklist of harmful tax havens by Prime Minister Gordon Brown in preparation for the G20 summit.

‘It is incumbent on the Ministry of Justice to defend Guernsey as a low-tax jurisdiction,’ he said on Monday.

The reluctance of UK officials to accept responsibility appeared in conflict with the International Framework Agreement which was signed with much fanfare in December by Chief Minister Lyndon Trott and Lord Bach (pictured).