The communications chief at telecommunications company Vodafone has revealed that he will not be proactively engaging with protestors who claim that the company has been let off a substantial tax bill. The protests by tax-avoidance campaigners started a few weeks ago, after it was alleged that Vodafone had been let off an unpaid tax bill of approximately £6 billion. Clothing chain Topshop has also been targeted by angry campaigners. Vodafone denied the allegations when the protests started in October and November, but the story still doesn’t seem to be going away. According to online trade magazine PRWeek, the company’s communication’s chief Bobby Leach is resisting the temptation to engage with campaigners and set the record straight. Speaking of the accusations made against Vodafone and his public relations strategy, Mr Leach said:

“The evidence is there for people who want to look, but I would question whether people want to find out about it. “You have an uphill battle if you take a proactive stance, with the risk of it becoming very high-profile if you do. Then you run the risk of making yourself more of a target.”

Rather than taking the proactive PR approach, Vodafone has simply put a statement and a Q&A section on its website.