David Cameron has invited senior ministers from Britain’s overseas territories and crown dependencies to London on the eve of this month’s G8 summit in the hope of reaching agreement on action to root out tax evasion.

The Prime Minister has made tax compliance a key priority of the UK’s presidency of the international grouping this year, and he last month wrote to the overseas territories stressing the need to “get our own houses in order”.

Representatives of Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Gibraltar, Anguilla, Montserrat, the Turks and Caicos Islands, Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man are expected to attend the Open for Growth conference on the weekend before the G8 summit opens in Northern Ireland on June 17.

Some of the islands and outposts are widely regarded as offshore tax havens, though they dispute this description and regard their low-tax regimes as vital to their economies.

It is understood that Mr Cameron is hoping for constructive engagement on the issue, rather than seeking confrontation with the territories. According to the Guardian, the PM is looking at the possibility of some or all of the participants formally signing an Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development convention on the sharing of information on tax between countries, which is seen as a key to tackling evasion.

In his letter last month, the PM wrote: “I have made fighting the scourge of tax evasion and aggressive tax avoidance a priority for the G8 summit which the UK is hosting next month.

”With one month to go, this is the critical moment to get our own houses in order. I am looking to all the overseas territories and crown dependencies to continue to work in partnership with the UK in taking the lead on two critical issues: tax information exchange and beneficial ownership.

“I respect your right to be lower tax jurisdictions. I believe passionately in lower taxes as a vital driver of growth and prosperity for all. But lower taxes are only sustainable if what is owed is actually paid – and if the rules to achieve this are set and enforced fairly to create a level playing field right across the world. There is no point in dealing with tax evasion in one country if the problem is simply displaced to another.’

A Downing Street spokesman said: “We strongly welcome the overseas territories’ positive engagement with our G8 presidency agenda on tax transparency and the significant progress they have made in this area.

“We look forward to welcoming them to our G8 Open for Growth event in the run-up to the G8 leaders’ summit and will continue to work with them and others to agree commitments to advance trade, ensure tax compliance and promote greater transparency.”

https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/prime-ministers-office-10-downing-street