'Sweetheart deal' taxman Dave Hartnett joins accountancy firm Deloitte

Dave Hartnett, who resigned as Permanent Secretary for Tax at Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs, will work one day a week for Deloitte, the auditor of Vodafone and Starbucks (Rex)

The former tax executive criticised for making "sweetheart deals" with multinational companies has been appointed as a specialist adviser for a leading accountancy firm.

Dave Hartnett, who resigned as Permanent Secretary for Tax at Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs, will work one day a week for Deloitte, the auditor of Vodafone and Starbucks. The 62-year-old will advise overseas governments on how to implement "effective tax regimes", according to details of the appointment published on the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments website.

David Cameron approved the appointment on the condition that Mr Hartnett was "not involved in any work considering how UK taxation can be mitigated or avoided".

Mr Hartnett helped to agree a number of "sweetheart deals" with major corporations including Vodafone and Goldman Sachs.

A High Court judge found that a deal brokered by Mr Hartnett with Goldman Sachs, which saved the US bank £20m in interest payments, was lawful but "not a glorious episode in the history of the revenue".