Text of Gray's letter to Revenue and Customs staff

LONDON (Reuters) - The chairman of the Revenue and Customs tax authority (HMRC) Paul Gray resigned on Tuesday amid reports of data going missing.

Here is the text of Gray's message to staff:

"I am announcing today that I will be standing down as HMRC Chairman as a result of a substantial operational failure in the Department. The Chancellor will be making a statement to Parliament later today.

"This is not the way I would have planned to organise my departure from HMRC. I had hoped to be around for a while longer, and to have had the continuing privilege of leading HMRC towards the vision we have been developing. But I am extremely proud of what all of you in the organisation have achieved during my time as Deputy Chairman and Chairman.

"Our record - for example in achieving sustained increases in tax receipts, in steadily improving the operations of the tax credit system, and in playing our full part in protecting the border - is a good one. At the same time we have made important steps in restructuring the Department to face our future challenges, delivering more with reduced resources. I know we still face some major issues where we need to do better. But I am confident the forthcoming Capability Review report will highlight some major strengths in HMRC, while giving us helpful steers on how we can improve further.

"I am extremely sorry that you may have learned about this first from the media. I will provide further details after the Parliamentary statement."