Cameron, family 'will not gain from offshore funds in future'

British Prime Minister David Cameron and his family will not benefit in the future from any offshore funds, his spokesman has revealed following repeated failures to provide a full account of the prime minister’s links to a controversial overseas company set up by his late father, The Guardian reported on Wednesday.

Cameron has come under increasing pressure to give a clear explanation of how and whether he, his wife and children stood to benefit from Blairmore – the company set up by his father, Ian, in Panama and the Bahamas, and which has avoided ever paying tax in Britain.

The prime minister and his office gave three partial answers about the fund on Tuesday but crucially failed to say whether Cameron and his family would gain in the future from Blairmore, an investment fund.

On Wednesday, his spokesman provided further clarity. “There are no offshore funds/trusts which the prime minister, Mrs Cameron or their children will benefit from in future,” he said.

A senior Labour source said the party was still not satisfied with the latest statement and it was not 100% clear whether Blairmore was covered by the denial. Cameron also needs to be more specific about the origins of his savings, he added.

The source highlighted that the statement still does not directly mention Blairmore or deny that the Cameron family could still have some links to it.

The fund was moved from its Bahamas base to Dublin in 2012, so it is possible, critics say, that Downing Street may not be defining it as an offshore fund - even though Ireland is still a low tax jurisdiction for corporations and has many of the same benefits as territories more commonly thought of as tax havens.

A Downing Street statement on Tuesday had said only that Cameron, his wife and children were not currently benefiting from any offshore funds.

Downing Street sources then reacted defiantly to questions about whether the prime minister and his family could benefit from Blairmore in future through any inheritance, saying it was time for his critics to “put up or shut up”.

Wednesday’s statement is the fourth from No 10 on the issue of Cameron’s links to offshore funds, showing he is under intense pressure despite Downing Street’s efforts to close down the story.

Source : MENA