Corbyn demands inquiry after Cameron dodges questions on tax

David Cameron is under increasing pressure today after giving a series of incomplete answers over whether he stands to benefit from an offshore fund set by his late stockbroker father.

Jeremy Corbyn has called on the prime minister to publish his tax return and demanded an independent inquiry into the beneficiaries of the Panama Papers.

The Labour leader called on Cameron to “set the record straight” after he failed to provide a full answer as to whether he would benefit from the offshore investment fund set up by his father, Ian.

Yesterday Cameron refused to declare whether he has benefited in the past or would in future from gains made by Blairmore Holdings Inc.

Downing Street initially insisted the financial affairs the Cameron family were a “private matter” before being forced to issue a statement saying the prime minister did not own any shares and revealing that his wife, Samantha, owned a “small number” connected to her father’s estate.

Corbyn said: “I think the prime minister, in his own interest, should tell us exactly what’s been going on.

“It’s a private matter in so far as it’s a privately held interest, but it’s not a private matter if tax has not been paid. So an investigation must take place, an independent investigation.”

Cameron initially gave a carefully worded answer in which he described his current position, without discussing whether he had benefited in the past or would in future.

“In terms of my own financial affairs, I own no shares. I have a salary as prime minister and I have some savings, which I get some interest from and I have a house, which we used to live in, which we now let out while we are living in Downing Street and that’s all I have,” he said yesterday.

Later, however, Downing Street was forced to clarify his position and a spokesman said: “To be clear, the prime minister, his wife and their children do not benefit from any offshore funds. The prime minister owns no shares.

“As has been previously reported, Mrs Cameron owns a small number of shares connected to her father’s land, which she declares on her tax return.”