The Times splashed on a tax avoidance story on Tuesday. But forget your Vodafones and your Barclays and your Goldman Sachs - the reluctant star of their investigations was one Jimmy Carr.

The article alleged [paywall] that Carr puts £3.3m a year into an offshore shelter as part of a tax avoidance scheme used by 1,100 individuals. There’s nothing illegal about that, as the man himself said at the time: "I pay what I have to and not a penny more."

Maybe so. However, he wasn’t able to sweep this one under the carpet that easily. It would be bad enough if he were simply a stand-up known for his cruel tongue. But it would be a major embarrassment if, say, he’d performed a sketch lampooning a bank for its tax affairs on Channel 4’s 10 O’Clock Live...

The story has even triggered a reaction from another member of the 10 O'Clock Live presenting lineup.

Can Channel 4 retain his services on the show? Will they do what the BBC did to Angus Deayton following his tabloid exposé a few years ago? We shall see.

 

In the meantime, it made a nice change to see Carr being the butt of some gags, rather than, say, gypsies.

He still retains some fans, however, among them fellow comedian Rufus Hound.

True. Nevertheless, the issue was considered of sufficient significance by Downing Street that David Cameron issued a statement on the subject, saying Carr’s tax affairs were “morally wrong”.

Could Cameron’s decision to wade into the debate backfire?

And while the Times story received plenty of plaudits, its parent company is also well-known for employing some very good accountants.