Tax bill protesters force Vodafone to close shops

Mobile phone giant Vodafone was forced on the defensive after protesters blockaded stores over claims that the company has an unpaid tax bill of £6 billion.

Campaigners said shops around the country were temporarily closed by demonstrations, including branches in Edinburgh and Glasgow.

Around 150 "anti-cuts" protesters gathered outside three flagship Vodafone shops in London's Oxford Street and one in Tottenham Court Road, blockading them with banners and bicycles after a campaign on social networking sites.

Vodafone dismissed the claim and said it had paid its taxes. A spokesman said: "We've seen protests outside a small number of our UK stores. We temporarily closed some of them and diverted customers to other locations so they were not inconvenienced. Most have since reopened.

"We pay our taxes in the UK and all of the other countries in which we operate. Reports suggesting that we have an outstanding tax bill for 6 billion are incorrect, as this was never the case."

A spokesman for HM Revenue and Customs said: "It was agreed that Vodafone's liability was 1.25 billion and at no point was the liability greater than that.

"There is no question of Vodafone having an outstanding tax liability of 6 billion; that number is an urban myth."