Compensation and an apology has failed to satisfy a pensioner in his battle against the taxman, who claimed he owed £25,000 in back-tax on a business he never ran.

Former pigeon fancier Dino Reardon, 65, of Skipton, has won a large compensation award after the Inland Revenue (IR) Adjudicator launched a probe into his two year battle with the revenue.

He also got an apology from the tax office.

But he says he will not be "bought off'' and wants changes in the rules governing how the IR deals with the public.

Currently the onus is on the individual to disprove an IR tax claim. Instead, Mr Reardon wants to see the tax office obliged to provide detailed evidence of what people owe.

It took Mr Reardon - who has pigeon lung - two years to convince the IR he was not a tax dodger and did not have a pigeon breeding business - it was run by his wife, Olive.

He researched tax laws at Skipton Library and learned the tax office was breaking its own code of conduct. During that period he received 26 different tax codes.

"I was put on the Inland Revenue national computer as having a business from 1991 to 1996," he said. "That was a false statement. I am not giving up. I have been offered compensation but I have not accepted it yet.

"I don't want the money to come from the taxpayer - the people who made the mistakes should pay up."

He has written to 16 MPs, including Prime Minister Tony Blair, outlining the case and received replies.

Skipton and Ripon MP David Curry will meet him on Saturday and plans to take the issue further. In a letter to Mr Reardon he said: "I am happy to take up the issue for further consideration with the financial secretary."

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