 "Panama papers: Cameron says he mishandled tax scrutiny")
British Prime Minister David Cameron said on Saturday he should have handled scrutiny of his family's tax arrangements better and promised to learn the lessons after days of negative media coverage and calls for his resignation.
After four days and four different statements over his late father's inclusion in the "Panama Papers", Cameron said on Thursday he once had a stake in his father's offshore trust and had profited from it, spurring calls for the leader to resign.
"Well, it's not been a great week," Cameron said on Saturday, speaking in London at a meeting of members of his Conservative Party. "I know that I should have handled this better, I could have handled this better. I know there are lessons to learn and I will learn them."
The acknowledgement drew accusations of hypocrisy and hit Cameron at a time when he's fighting multiple crises. His party is split down the middle ahead of the June 23 referendum on European Union membership and the government is struggling to answer questions about how it will prop up the country's steel industry.
Cameron isn't the only prominent figure to be dragged into the so-called Panama Papers controversy, following the leak of millions of documents from a law firm detailing attempts to avoid tax. It has already forced the Icelandic prime minister and two European banking executives to resign and is also causing problems for Argentine President Mauricio Macri.
After four days and four different statements over his late father's inclusion in the "Panama Papers", Cameron said on Thursday he once had a stake in his father's offshore trust and had profited from it, spurring calls for the leader to resign.
"Well, it's not been a great week," Cameron said on Saturday, speaking in London at a meeting of members of his Conservative Party. "I know that I should have handled this better, I could have handled this better. I know there are lessons to learn and I will learn them."
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Cameron is trying to draw a line under one of the worst weeks of his premiership as he hits the campaign trail ahead of mayoral and local elections next month.
The acknowledgement drew accusations of hypocrisy and hit Cameron at a time when he's fighting multiple crises. His party is split down the middle ahead of the June 23 referendum on European Union membership and the government is struggling to answer questions about how it will prop up the country's steel industry.
Cameron isn't the only prominent figure to be dragged into the so-called Panama Papers controversy, following the leak of millions of documents from a law firm detailing attempts to avoid tax. It has already forced the Icelandic prime minister and two European banking executives to resign and is also causing problems for Argentine President Mauricio Macri.