Blame me for mishandling Panama Papers news: Cameron

LONDON: British Prime Minister David Cameron said on Saturday he must take the blame for the way Downing Street handled revelations about his interest in his late father’s offshore investment fund, and suggested he will imminently publish details of his personal tax affairs.

Addressing the Conservative party spring forum, the prime minister admitted it had “not been a great week”, to laughter from the gathered supporters.

Cameron said he would publish details of his tax return “later on” as he attempted to assuage calls for further transparency about his financial dealings.

“I know I should have handled this better,” he said. “I could have handled this better.

I know there are lessons to learn and I will learn them. And don’t blame No 10 Downing Street, or nameless advisers, blame me. And I will learn the lessons.”

As Cameron addressed his party’s supporters, thousands of protesters gathered outside the gates of Downing Street calling for him to resign.

The crowd then marched to the forum at the Grand Connaught Rooms, in Covent Garden, wielding placards and chanting for him to step down.

Cameron told the forum he was “very angry about what people were saying about my dad”.

“I love my dad. I miss him every day,” he said. “He was a wonderful father and I’m very proud of everything he did."

But I mustn’t let that cloud the picture. And the facts are these. The facts are I bought shares in a unit trust, shares that are like any other sorts of shares, and paid tax on them in exactly the same way.

I sold those shares, in fact I sold all the shares that I owned on becoming prime minister.

“And later on I’ll be publishing the information that goes into my tax return, not just for this year but for years gone past because I want to be completely transparent and open about these things. I’ll be the first prime minister, the first leader of a major political party, to do that, but I think it’s the right thing to do.”

The protest, in which many waved banners saying "Cameron must go", briefly blocked the street outside the venue, with delegates advised to remove their identification before leaving.

Cameron’s candid admission of fault, during which he said he had been angered at how the media had portrayed his late father, comes after a torrid period for the Conservative government.

Divided over a June 23 referendum on whether to remain in the European Union, forced to backtrack on welfare cuts and criticised for not protecting the steel industry, Cameron sought to rally party unity ahead of regional elections next month.

"We have a huge responsibility over the coming months and the coming years to settle this issue over Europe to show the discipline and unity and purpose that is vital for government," he said.