No, not my words, unsurprisingly.

I spoke this lunchtime at a debate organised by the Centre for the Study of Financial Innovation.

This organisation says on its web site that:

The CSFI is an independent think tank based in London. It was formed in early 1993 to stimulate research into the future of the financial services industry, and to provide a neutral meeting ground for financial practitioners to share ideas and explore the road ahead.

and

The Centre is unique: there is no comparable forum in the financial sector which is able to inquire and judge, free from political and commercial pressures. The CSFI has no ideological brief. As such, it provides a valuable facility for the City of London and the wider field of international finance which it serves. The Centre's contacts in finance, government, technology, academia, professional services and the press ensure wide input into, and dissemination of, its work.

It’s director, Andrew Hilton, introduced the debate. In doing so he said (and I think I quote verbatim):

As a man who believes in tax avoidance thinks a little more tax evasion might not be a bad thing…..

His audience — which as a BBC reporter present noted to me afterwards — was almost entirely hostile to the view I was there to promote — seemed quite unshocked by his comment.

I wonder where, but in the hall of a City of London Livery Company could you openly promote your opinion that law breaking is a good thing and expect a welcome reception for your ideas? Or that you could claim your organisation has no ideological belief and still do so?

I leave it to others to consider the contribution such an organisation is likely to make to society when this is the belief of its director, publicly stated.