Tax fraud tycoon fails in bid to claim church organ he used to play

COURT: Former bus firm boss ordered to pay expenses after sheriff’s ruling

A tax-dodging tycoon launched a legal action against a church in a bid to get the organ he used to play.

Stewart Newing-Davis demanded the return of the church organ, claiming it belonged to him.

Newing-Davis, jailed for defrauding the taxman, also demanded the church hand over two nativity figures and a hook-a-duck set.

He told Perth Sheriff Court St Columba’s Church in Stanley had retained his belongings, including a Dyson vacuum cleaner, 22 tables and a cinema-style organ, after he quit in 2014.

He said he had been the Perthshire church’s organist for a decade, while his wife Sarah was the treasurer, and had donated items worth more than £3,000.

Solicitor Ruth Thomson said the church disputed the items had ever belonged to Newing-Davis and added he had run out of time to pursue a claim.

Sheriff Jillian Martin-Brown halted a hearing to allow the parties to discuss the issue and out-of-court agreement.

After a brief discussion, Newing-Davis left and failed to return to the courtroom and Miss Thomson confirmed they had failed to reach any agreement.

The sheriff ruled against NewingDavis and ordered him to pay expenses.

Earlier this year, Newing-Davis made nearly £174,179 from his criminal activity. He had forced staff to falsify VAT returns for more than a year.

The court was told Newing-Davis, formerly of Bankfoot, had deliberately falsified accounts to avoid substantial VAT payments and then tried to blame his book-keeper.

An audit of the company’s books established he had underpaid the taxman by £174,179 in just over a year, between March 2010 and June 2011.

Newing-Davis had been running several businesses including Trainpeople.co.uk Ltd, which operated recruitment on behalf of national transport companies.

The one-time bus firm boss was ordered to pay back just £7,000 under Proceeds of Crime legislation, from the sale of his £400,000 villa in France. He was jailed for 32 months.

He was released on a home detention curfew after serving just a quarter of his sentence.

Newing-Davis formerly ran Bankfoot Buses, which was ordered off the road for trying to imitate Stagecoach services by using similar livery and running free routes just ahead of their rival.

Newing-Davis now lives in France with his family.

Picture: Perthshire Picture Agency. Stewart NewingDavis, who was jailed for tax dodging, has lost a case against his former church.