Apple shop in London targeted by Mark Thomas and tax protesters

Comedian Mark Thomas has led a flashmob at Apple's flagship store on Regent Street in protest against the company's tax avoidance.

Last month Tim Cook, Apple's CEO, defended the company's use of three subsidiaries in Ireland, which are designed to reduce Apple's exposure to tax.

One of the three, Apple Sales International, paid $10m in tax on a sales income of $74bn in 2011.

Thomas was joined by about 50 activists who gathered in the Regent Street shop for a brief Irish party. Some carried Irish flags, others wore Irish football strips, while a three-piece band played traditional Irish music, leading a sing-along version of Irish Rover.

The group brandished banners that read "Take a tax holiday in Ireland" and advised Apple customers to purchase the same goods in a nearby John Lewis. Last year, the department store's managing director, Andy Street, called on the government to urgently address tax avoidance.

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In a video of the protest uploaded on to YouTube, Thomas addresses his fellow protesters outside the store: "It's great we made a little bit of impact. We're just saying that we're not prepared for companies to operate and pay no tax. You have to pay your fair share.

"It's austerity, and multinationals who are turning over billions of pounds of profit have got to make sure they pay their bit. And if they are tax dodgers and tax avoiders, we will make a scene and we will scream and shout as much as we can until we get this people to actually pay tax and put into the system, rather than take out."

Thomas is scheduled to appear at this year's Edinburgh Fringe festival with a new show entitled 100 Acts of Minor Dissent, which will catalogue his attempt to achieve just that in the space of a year.