The PCG is considering an appeal following the news that Bill Hood of Usetech Limited has lost his IR35 case against the tax regulator.

'This result is extremely disappointing,' said the PCG's legal director, Dr Simon Juden. 'We are considering an appeal, pending clarification about certain issues which were not clear from the judgment.'

Hood started his business as a self-employed oil rig designer in 1996, abandoning it last year after suffering a severe heart attack. The hearing of his case by special commissioners took place in the living room of his Gateshead home, rather than in a courtroom.