David Cameron had stake in father's offshore trust
Online Desk
08 Apr 2016 00:19 AM
Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron speaks during a question and answer session on the forthcoming European Union referendum with staff of PricewaterhouseCoopers in Birmingham, central England, on April 5, 2016. Prime Minister David Cameron came under
British Prime Minister David Cameron has said he and his wife Samantha owned shares in an offshore trust set up by his late father, before selling them for £30,000 in 2010, reports the BBC.
The PM has faced questions over Blairmore Holdings, an offshore company set up by his late father, Ian.
He told ITV News he had paid all UK taxes due on the profits he made from the sale of the shares and said the firm had not been set up to avoid tax.
Labour said the PM had been forced into the "extraordinary admission".
Mr Cameron may publish his tax returns, possibly next week.
There have been days of headlines about Blairmore Holdings, a fund for investors which, until 2006, used "bearer shares" to protect its clients' privacy, following the leak of 11 million documents held by Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonseca.
They show that Ian Cameron, who died in 2010, was one of five UK directors who flew to board meetings in the Bahamas or Switzerland.
On Wednesday, Downing Street issued a statement saying Mr Cameron, his wife and children did not benefit from offshore funds-- following a day of questions from the media about whether his family retained an interest in the fund.
On Thursday Mr Cameron told ITV News: "I don't have anything to hide. I'm proud of my dad and what he did and the business he established...I can't bear to see his name being dragged through the mud."
The PM said it had been a "difficult few days, reading criticisms of my father and his business practices-- my dad, a man I love and admire and miss every day".
Mr Cameron said much criticism was based on a "fundamental misconception" that Blairmore Investment was set up to avoid tax.
"It wasn't. It was set up after exchange controls went, so that people who wanted to invest in dollar denominated shares and companies could do so, and there are many other, thousands of other unit trusts set up in this way," he said.
