Tax scam conservationist claimed he could influence Gordon Brown

  A conservationist accused of involvement in a £60m tax dodge claimed he could influence former Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown while promoting schemes tackling climate change, a court heard. Professor Ian Swingland OBE, 69, allegedly took part in a three-year scam which helped wealthy investors avoid tax on £170m worth of income. Swingland founded the Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology in 1989 at the University of Kent, and is now a world-leading research facility into biodiversity, communities…