Well, finally we got an admission last night from David Cameron about his investment in his late father’s offshore trust. Here’s the Guardian splash with the full details.
And here is the transcript of Cameron’s interview with ITV’s Robert Peston in which he made the admission.
Labour is accusing Cameron of hypocrisy. This is what Tom Watson, Labour’s deputy leader, told the BBC last night when it was put to him that Cameron said he was not dodging tax because, as an investor in the fund, he paid full UK taxes. Watson replied:
I would say, does he hold the British people in such contempt that he believes they don’t think that these schemes are used by people to avoid paying tax. That might have been the case when his father set the company up in the 1980s. It certainly wasn’t the case when he sold the shares in 2010. It’s an unacceptable answer and it doesn’t hold water and it will only lead to further detailed questions over days and weeks to come about what his other shareholdings were and how he arranged his own finances.
After all, he was lecturing very high profile people. He was describing them as morally wrong when they invested in similar schemes. He can’t say one thing to others and do another himself.
Asked whether Cameron would have to resign, Watson said:
I think it’s too early to tell. He may have to resign over this but I think we need to know a lot more about what his financial arrangements have been, why it’s taken three days for him to answer legitimate questions from journalists, why he didn’t come clean when he heralded in the new age of transparency, and what other shareholdings does David Cameron have or has had since he was a member of parliament.
The Labour MP John Mann was less equivocal. This is what he posted on Twitter last night.
Cameron issue is simple. He covered up and misled. How he got his shares is irrelevant. He has no choice but to resign.
— John Mann (@JohnMannMP) April 7, 2016
If it's good enough for tiny Iceland it's good enough for the UK . Cameron must go now
— John Mann (@JohnMannMP) April 7, 2016
Earlier this week, after Cameron/Number 10’s second attempt to answer questions about his involvement with his late father’s offshore trust, I said Cameron had probably said enough to close this down as a story. I’m sorry about that; it turned out to be a very duff call. Today Cameron is under as much pressure as ever, and I will be covering all the developments in detail.
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