France contradicts British account of HSBC files

France’s finance minister said yesterday that Paris had not restricted the use of HSBC client data it passed on to UK authorities to help pursue tax evaders, contradicting comments by a senior British official.

Britain’s financial secretary to the Treasury, David Gauke, said in the British parliament this week that France had provided leaked information on accounts at the British bank “under very strict conditions”.

In response, Michel Sapin told Le Monde he “did not understand” Gauke’s remarks.