British Prime Minister David Cameron has derided what he said are "deeply hurtful and profoundly untrue allegations" against his deceased father, whose name had appeared in the leaked Panama Papers that revealed his offshore investment funds.
In comments to parliament Monday, Cameron defended the accounts, saying they were entirely standard practice not set up to avoid taxes.
"His investment fund was set up overseas in the first place because it was going to be trading predominately in dollar securities," Cameron said. "There are thousands of these investment funds and many millions of people in Britain who own shares, many of whom hold them through investment funds or unit trusts."
Stockbroker
Cameron's father, Ian, was a stockbroker who died just after his son became prime minister.
Ian Cameron's name is among the long list of rich and powerful in the more than 11 million documents leaked from the Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca.
Last week, David Cameron admitted that he and his wife, Samantha, had benefited from shares in an offshore fund.
The Conservative prime minister said his family owned shares in the Bahamas-based Blairmore Holdings that were worth about $42,000. Cameron said he sold them in 2010, just months before becoming prime minister.
Tax return
Meanwhile Monday, British finance minister George Osborne released details of his most recent tax return.
The release showed Osborne had a total taxable income of around $283,000 and paid income tax of $102,800. It stated he had "no offshore interests in shares or anything else."
On Sunday, Cameron published a summary of his tax returns since 2009, becoming the first British leader to do so.
The records appear to show that in the most recent tax year, Cameron paid $108,000 on taxable income of about $285,160.
