David Cameron confesses he DID have £30k stake in dad's offshore fund

DAVID Cameron today came clean on his financial affairs – admitting he and his wife sold shares worth more than £30,000 in an offshore tax haven fund set up by his late father.

After five days of mounting pressure on the PM to reveal his financial interests in Blairmore Holdings, the PM confessed he had owned 5,000 shares until he moved into No10 six years ago.

Ian Cameron's company avoided paying UK tax for years by operating out of the Bahamas and Jersey.

In the bombshell admission the PM admitted he had sold the shares to the tune of £31,500 in 2010 but claimed the profits were “subject to all the taxes in all the normal ways”.

In an interview with ITV News, he said: “I should deal with the past as well. Because of course I did own stocks and shares in the past - quite naturally because my father was a stockbroker.

“I sold them all in 2010, because if I was going to become Prime Minister I didn't want anyone to say you have other agendas, vested interests.

“Samantha and I had a joint account. We owned 5000 units in Blairmore Investment Trust, which we sold in January 2010. That was worth something like £30,000.”

The confession comes five days after Downing Street said the PM's finances were a "private matter", before issuing four statements amid a flurry of speculation.

But today No10 came clean, clarifying that Mr Cameron and his wife Samantha bought their holding in April 1997 for £12,497 and sold it in January 2010 for £31,500.

The annual personal allowance for an individual in 2009-10 was £10,100 - meaning jointly the profit was just outside the threshold.

No10 said Mr and Mrs Cameron bought their holding in April 1997 for £12,497 and sold it in January 2010 for £31,500.

In the interview with ITV's political editor Robert Peston, Mr Cameron said it had been "a difficult few days" since the mass leak of records from Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca as he launched a staunch defence of his father.

"I think a lot of the criticisms are based on a fundamental misconception, which is that Blairmore Investment, a unit trust, was set up with the idea of avoiding tax," he said.

"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.

"It was reported to the HMRC, the Inland Revenue. It reported itself every year. It was properly audited.

"It wasn't a family trust. It wasn't for the benefit of one particular family; anyone could have bought units in it. And crucially, if you were a UK citizen and bought units in it, then you paid income tax on the dividends, and you paid capital gains tax when you sold the shares.

"So you're subject to full UK taxation.

"So that's what it was. There are many other unit trusts like it, and I think it's being unfairly described, and my father's name is being unfairly written about.

"But look, I'm very clear about my situation. I'm happy to answer questions about it. And above all, I'm going to go on fighting very hard to make sure we have greater transparency, greater rules on tax avoidance, and aggressive tax evasion and aggressive tax avoidance. It's very important that we do.

"Now, I've been very clear about the future. I've said I'm not going to benefit from any family trusts. I've been very clear about the present: I don't own any shares, I don't own any unit trusts or any investments like that. I own two homes, one of which I rent out, and I have a salary as Prime Minister.

"So my affairs are very transparent. Happy to make them more transparent.

"But I should deal with the past as well, because of course, I did own stocks and shares in the past, quite naturally, as my father was a stockbroker.

"I sold them all in 2010, because if I was going to become Prime Minister, I didn't want anyone to say you've got other agendas or vested interests or all the rest of it. Samantha and I had a joint account, and we owned 5,000 units in Blairmore Investment Trust, which we sold in January 2010. That was worth something like £30,000."

Mr Cameron said he was not able to "point to every source of every bit of the money" that his father left him when he died - which he said amounted to around £300,000.

Pressed on whether he benefited from any part of the estate that was based in Jersey, he said: "Dad's not around for me to ask the questions now. But he was a very hardworking man. He built up a business. He left his house to my brother. He left me some money, and left things to my brothers and sisters, too.

"And I think, you know, there's pretty good transparency about all of that. And as I've said, in the future I'm not benefiting from any Cameron family trust. At the moment I own no shares, no investments. I have savings."

The interview comes after it emerged that shortly before his death in 2010 Ian Cameron owned more than 6,000 shares in a Jersey fund he helped to manage, known by various names including the Close International Equity Growth Fund.

The assets were left to his wife Mary in his will, leaving open the possibility that the PM could benefit from the fund in the future.

Mr Cameron, who has been a prominent campaigner for increased tax transparency, also repeated his willingness to publish his own tax returns.

David Cameron confesses he DID have £30k stake in dad's offshore fund