Parliament's Public Accounts Committee is to question the charity regulator over a charity used as the front for £46 million of tax avoidance, according to The Times.

Charity Commission head William Shawcross will be quizzed by MPs about the Cup Trust, which carried out trades that artificially generated gift aid for donors to reduce their tax bills, according to the paper.

Investors who placed money into the scheme would receive most of their money back, but still be able to claim gift aid on top of that amount. The Cup Trust raised £173 million over two years but only gave £55,000 to good causes.

Committee chairman Margaret Hodge said Shawcross 'had questions to answer about how such flagrant abuse was allowed to occur.'