Trustee
Stuart Cotton is a former Tax Inspector within HMRC’s National Intelligence Unit where he specialised as a Covert Human Intelligence Source Handler taking care of highly complex whistle-blowers involved in financial crimes and terrorism cases. He handled one of the world’s most important financial informants obtaining data from an offshore bank which generated around £5bn in tax for numerous international tax departments including the UK. He also then became a whistle-blower himself in the immediate aftermath of the July Bombings having predicted such an atrocity in 2002 from a terrorist financing operation he had been monitoring. Stuart’s case is subject to a ‘gagging’ order in the Courts meaning the details cannot be made public so he is uniquely placed to speak up for whistle-blowers having been both informant and recipient of information in extremely dangerous circumstances. Stuart is also a Trustee of the Kilmahew Education Trust which is aiming to restore the Kilmahew Estate in Cardross to its original Victorian splendour so he brings experience in the not-for-profit sector too.