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The UK's tax office has said it was prevented by an international agreement from sharing information about HSBC's possible involvement in tax evasion.

HM Revenue & Customs was passed a horde of documents in 2010 from France about possible evasion by HSBC clients.

On Tuesday, MPs criticised the City watchdog, the Financial Conduct Authority, for not knowing about the claims until media reports emerged.

One MP said the FCA could not operate effectively without knowing the facts.

But an HMRC spokesman later told the BBC that under a deal with France it could not share the information.

"We received the data under an international treaty agreement with France which had tight restrictions. We couldn't move it outside the department," the spokesman added.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-31359962