Cameron had stake in father's offshore trust

British Prime Minister David Cameron admitted in a television interview on Thursday that in the past he had held a small stake in an offshore fund set up by his father, after the late Ian Cameron's dealings were uncovered in the Panama Papers leaks.

"It has been a difficult few days," the Prime Minister told broadcaster ITV after admitting he owned shares in his father's tax haven fund. He said he sold the shares for around 31,500 pounds ($44,000) before becoming prime minister.

"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," he said in the interview.

After initially refusing to comment, Downing Street then claimed the prime minister at present held "no shares, no offshore trusts, no offshore funds," later clarifying that he was not set to benefit from the shares in the future either. By Thursday, Cameron sat down with ITV to talk about the shares he and his wife had received from his fatherin the past. The British prime minister said that he did not know if the other 300,000 pounds he inherited from his father enjoyed tax benefits, because they were in a unit trust based in Jersey.

"I obviously can't point to the source of every bit of money, and Dad's not around for me to ask the questions now," said Cameron, bowing to pressure after some members of opposition accused him of trying to cover-up the family dealings.

es/jil (AFP, dpa)