Ed Miliband is invited to Jersey over 'tax haven' comments

Labour said any move to close tax havens should start with diplomacy

Jersey's Chief Minister has invited the UK's Labour leader to the island to find out about the finance industry.

Ed Miliband called for an end to UK tax havens, starting with the Channel Islands and Isle of Man.

Senator Ian Gorst said he was writing to Mr Miliband to invite him to see the high standard of regulation Jersey abides to.

He said: "We have voluntary complied to best practice and we employ a good neighbour policy."

Under current rules, British residents are able to keep money in offshore accounts where it can go unnoticed by HM Revenue and Customs.

Labour said the government should "start with diplomacy" to try to encourage tax havens to reform.

'Tax loopholes'

But if that fails, the opposition leader said ministers should threaten to put them on an international blacklist.

The European Union said it was working to close tax loopholes. However, Mr Miliband said he was now calling on the government to press for much faster action at EU level.

He also said UK ministers should start with the tax havens they are responsible for, such as British Crown Dependencies like Guernsey and Jersey.

Senator Gorst said the island had a good record when dealing with international bodies.

He said: "We comply with international best practice, we are well regulated and we have signed tax information exchange agreements with a number of G20 countries and members of the EU."