FRAUD LORD WHO IGNITED SCANDAL

LITHUANIAN-born industrialist Joseph Kagan, right, was the founder of Kagan Textiles, which made raincoats from the waterproof Gannex material he invented, and which were popularised by his friend, Wilson.

The Gannex factory was in Wilson’s home town of Huddersfield.

Kagan, who appears third on the list, also provided funding for Wilson’s private office and received a peerage. According to Lady Falkender’s chief critic, former Wilson press secretary Joe Haines, Kagan had given her financial assistance, which she denies. Haines says: ‘Kagan stayed in the list despite the fact that I warned Wilson he was being investigated for tax fraud.’ In 1980, Kagan was convicted of stealing drums of indigo dye from his own firm and false accounting. He spent ten months in prison.

Lady Falkender says: ‘Kagan was not a controversial choice at the time.’ She pointed out that Wilson had already given him a knighthood in 1970.