Former tax boss on trial for £5m pension fraud

Former tax boss Andrew Meeson and his business associates pocketed £5m in a "very simple and very lucrative scam" by claiming tax relief on fictitious pension contributions, a court heard.

Meeson (pictured), the former president of the Association of Taxation Technicians, is accused, along with Peter Spencer Bradley, Alison Jayne Bradley and Steven Price, of conspiracy to cheat HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) between 1 January 2006 and 30 April 2010. All four defendants have pleaded not guilty. Steven Price, 47, denies a further count of acquiring criminal property from the proceeds of the fraud between 1 June 2007 and 30 April 2010. David Farrer QC, prosecuting, told the jury at Birmingham Crown Court yesterday that Meeson, 52, and married couple Peter Bradley, 45, and A...