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| David Cameron admits he did have a stake in father's offshore investment fund after Panama Papers leak | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| David Cameron has admitted he did have a profitable stake in his father’s offshore investment fund, before selling it for around £30,000 before he became Prime Minister. | David Cameron has admitted he did have a profitable stake in his father’s offshore investment fund, before selling it for around £30,000 before he became Prime Minister. |
| The admission comes five days after a huge cache of documents were leaked – dubbed the Panama Papers – detailing the tax affairs of thousands of individuals of worldwide. The Prime Minister’s father, Ian Cameron, who passed away in 2010, was exposed as running a fund under the name of Blairmore Holdings in the papers. | The admission comes five days after a huge cache of documents were leaked – dubbed the Panama Papers – detailing the tax affairs of thousands of individuals of worldwide. The Prime Minister’s father, Ian Cameron, who passed away in 2010, was exposed as running a fund under the name of Blairmore Holdings in the papers. |
| Downing Street staffers initially said that it was a “private matter” whether or not Mr Cameron had benefitted from the fund. It later issued a series of statements denying the Prime Minister currently benefitted from offshore funds, or stood to do so in the future. Though, despite the clarifications, a number of questions still remained. | Downing Street staffers initially said that it was a “private matter” whether or not Mr Cameron had benefitted from the fund. It later issued a series of statements denying the Prime Minister currently benefitted from offshore funds, or stood to do so in the future. Though, despite the clarifications, a number of questions still remained. |
| Labour has condemned the way information about Mr Cameron’s financial affairs was revealed with “drip, drip” statements, and the revelations will raise questions about why Mr Cameron did not admit to personally profiting until five days after the Panama Papers were leaked. | Labour has condemned the way information about Mr Cameron’s financial affairs was revealed with “drip, drip” statements, and the revelations will raise questions about why Mr Cameron did not admit to personally profiting until five days after the Panama Papers were leaked. |
| But in an interview with ITV News, he insisted that it was a "fundamental misconception" that Blairmore Holdings, set up by his father Ian Cameron the 1980s and run from the Bahamas, was set up to avoid tax. He said his father was being "unfairly written about". | But in an interview with ITV News, he insisted that it was a "fundamental misconception" that Blairmore Holdings, set up by his father Ian Cameron the 1980s and run from the Bahamas, was set up to avoid tax. He said his father was being "unfairly written about". |
| He said that his and Samantha Cameron’s profit from the scheme was "subject to all the UK taxes in the normal ways". | He said that his and Samantha Cameron’s profit from the scheme was "subject to all the UK taxes in the normal ways". |
| Number 10 said Mr and Mrs Cameron bought their holding in April 1997 for £12,497 and sold it in January 2010 for £31,500. | Number 10 said Mr and Mrs Cameron bought their holding in April 1997 for £12,497 and sold it in January 2010 for £31,500. |
| "I paid income tax on the dividends, but there was a profit on it but it was less than the capital gains tax allowance, so I didn't pay capital gains tax, but it was subject to all the UK taxes in all the normal ways," Mr Cameron told ITV. | "I paid income tax on the dividends, but there was a profit on it but it was less than the capital gains tax allowance, so I didn't pay capital gains tax, but it was subject to all the UK taxes in all the normal ways," Mr Cameron told ITV. |
| "So I want to be as clear as I can about the past, about the present, about the future, because frankly, I don't have anything to hide. | "So I want to be as clear as I can about the past, about the present, about the future, because frankly, I don't have anything to hide. |
| "I'm proud of my dad and what he did and the business he established and all the rest of it. | "I'm proud of my dad and what he did and the business he established and all the rest of it. |
| "I can't bear to see his name being dragged through the mud, as you can see, and for my own, I chose to take a different path from my father, grandfather and great-grandfather, who were all stockbrokers, and I've got nothing to hide in my arrangements and I'm very happy to answer questions about it." | "I can't bear to see his name being dragged through the mud, as you can see, and for my own, I chose to take a different path from my father, grandfather and great-grandfather, who were all stockbrokers, and I've got nothing to hide in my arrangements and I'm very happy to answer questions about it." |
| Labour’s deputy leader Tom Watson said: "The Prime Minister has previously described the actions of others who invested in these complex schemes as 'morally wrong'. I'm sure he will now consider voluntarily paying the money that, in his own words, should morally belong to the exchequer." | |
| Mr Cameron also faced questions today after it emerged he personally intervened to try to prevent EU transparency rules affecting offshore tax trusts. | |
| The Prime Minister was forced to respond after it emerged that he sent a letter to the European Council president Herman van Rompuy in 2013 arguing for trusts to be treated differently from companies in anti-money laundering rules. | |
| In the letter, Mr Cameron claimed that it was "clearly important we recognise the important differences between companies and trusts". | |
| "This means that the solution for addressing the potential misuse of companies, such as central public registries, may well not be appropriate generally," the letter said. | |
| Forced to respond to the allegations, following a speech on Europe in Exeter, Mr Cameron told students he had put tax avoidance at the top of the agenda during his chairmanship of the G8 group of leading nations. | |
| “Britain has been an absolute leader on this and we will continue to do it,” he added. |