2nd LD Writethru: HSBC bosses face British MPs questions

HSBC chief executive Stuart Gulliver and chairman Douglas Flint were summoned to appear in front of British MPs to answer questions about the company's tax evasion scandal on Wednesday.

The chairman and the chief executive were called to appear before British MPs on the House of Commons Treasury Committee, following revelations about Gulliver's personal financial affairs.

Gulliver, the chief executive of Britain's biggest bank, had a bank account in Switzerland that was routed through Panama.

HSBC has already confirmed that Gulliver uses a Swiss bank account to hold his bonus payments. According to a report from the bank in the Guardian, Gulliver has 5 million pounds in the account, which he controls using a Panamanian company.

Earlier this month, International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, a Washington-based publication, reported details on how HSBC's Swiss unit handled accounts for tax evaders and criminals during the period from 2005 to 2007.

HSBC has confirmed and apologised for helping clients evade taxes. Days before, Gulliver said: "We must show we understand that the societies we serve expect more from us. We therefore offer our sincerest apologies."

According to Gulliver, HSBC Swiss private bank has been completely overhauled since 2008. The number of its accounts has bee cut by nearly 70 percent.

The scandal also caused a debate between British MPs as many important politicians in Britain were involved in the scandal.

The labor Party leader Ed Miliband has called Prime Minister David Cameron a "dodgy prime minister surrounded by dodgy donors", in a row over party grandees with Swiss bank accounts.

Cameron hit back by accusing the previous Labor government of being the "friend of the tax dodger". Endit