| Taxman stays silent on row rocking EK centre |
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| Written by Andrea O'Neill | ||||||
 TAX centre bosses are refusing to break the silence over the furore that has rocked the East Kilbride office.Robert Bowering, contact manager at HM Revenue and Customs, was escorted from the Plaza Tower after it emerged that he was made bankrupt by his employers over unpaid taxes just months before he took up the £55,000-plus post. The 46-year-old privately educated call centre veteran is believed to have taken an extended leave of absence after the shocking revelations came to light. Workers at the town’s Plaza Tower and Centre One offices told the East Kilbride Mail an internal email was sent out to staff saying that Bowering would be absent for some time. However, HMRC are refusing to confirm that this is the case, reiterating that they could not confirm their employee had been dismissed or suspended. A HMRC spokesman said: “We cannot comment on any individual staff members.” Bowering, of Livingston, appeared at Linlithgow Sheriff Court on March 20 over debts amounting to £75,545. It is understood that the organisations director – a close friend and former colleague – was fully aware of Bowering’s insolvency before he was given the high-profile job advising people on how to pay their tax bills. EK West Tory councillor, Graham Simpson, said: “This is extraordinary. If he owes the taxman money, why is he employing him? I want to know how this was allowed to happen.” Bowering states on a business networking site that he is an industry expert with 19 years experience specialising in contact centre leadership and has headed call centres at HSBC and beCogent Ltd. Originally from Sheffield, he attended the prestigious Rugby School and left the University of Durham with an MBA. Matthew Elliott, chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “It is remarkable that HMRC didn’t check this before hiring Mr Bowering, and that he seems not to have felt the need to mention it when it happened. “Morale at HMRC has been at rock bottom since the disastrous loss of discs full of personal information, and this is another blow to confidence in its management. Taxpayers need to be reassured that the taxman is trustworthy and competent, because at the moment they seem to be anything but.”
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