Needham Market pair failed to pay £420,000 in taxes – court

A husband and wife who admitted failing to pay more than £420,000 in taxes have been jailed.

On Tuesday, at Ipswich Crown Court, Gisele Dineur, 41, and Leslie Saxby, 68, were each sentenced to two-and-a-half years imprisonment and banned from being company directors for 10 years.

Dineur, of Hill House Lane, Needham Market, and Saxby, formerly of Fulham High Street, London, had operated a bespoke tailoring and vintage clothing business with premises in Ipswich and London.

Matthew Sorel-Cameron, prosecuting, said the couple, who were now living together, had failed to pay VAT, corporation tax, PAYE, income tax and national insurance contributions.

Dineur had not paid £254,000 while Saxby had failed to pay £171,000.

Both pleaded guilty to cheating the public revenue between September 2009 and April 2015.

The court heard that trading was at first carried out through David Saxby Ltd and later by Dineur who traded as David Saxby Sporting Tweeds and Formal Wear, although both the couple had been involved.

Michael Warren, appearing for Saxby, said his client had enjoyed a career as a sucessful bespoke tailor specialising in sporting tweeds and for society events, and blamed incompetence rather than intentional dishonesty for the offence.

Dineur, a mother of two, while having some understanding of what was happening in the business, had not been the main instigator, said her barrister Rakesh Sharma.