Gary Lineker and David Beckham are among stars who have lost their right to claim back £480 million of tax after  investing in controversial film-funding schemes along with hundreds of fellow celebrities.

A group of 81 had gone to the Court of Appeal to claim tax relief after investing in hit movies like Avatar with a firm called Ingenious. But they lost the latest round of legal wrangles over their investments, according to the Sun newspaper.

HMRC had called the schemes aggressive tax dodging. Each of the stars had to commit a minimum of £100,000 to the scheme, aimed at stimulating the British film industr...