Architect Norman Foster gives up seat in Lords over taxes
12 April 2012
The architect Norman Foster has quit the House of Lords rather than pay full UK tax.
The crossbencher, who lives mainly in Switzerland, gave up his seat before a deadline tonight for peers to choose between paying tax or leaving Parliament.
His designs include the Gherkin in the City and the "wobbly" Millennium Bridge.
Five peers have so far decided to give up their seats after new laws ruled that anyone sitting in the Lords must be domiciled in the UK for taxation.
The others were Lord Laidlaw, the Monaco-based Tory donor, Lady Thatcher's former treasurer Lord McAlpine, who lives in Italy, Lord Bagri, the former chairman of the London Metal Exchange, and Baroness Dunn, former deputy chair of the HSBC bank. They keep their titles for life.
