David Cameron says 'blame me' over mishandling of Panama Papers

British Prime Minister David Cameron said on 9 April 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.

Four days after the Panama Papers were published, Cameron admitted to ITV News he and his wife had once had a stake in his father's offshore trust and had profited from it. The Blairmore Holdings, the fund created by his father Ian, were included in the Panama Papers. This was after several and different statements that did not include the admission and critics called for the leader to resign. The opposition Labour Party has demanded Cameron make a statement to Parliament on 11 April.

"Well, it's not been a great week," Cameron acknowledged at a London meeting of members of his ruling 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."

Cameron's late father, Ian, was among tens of thousands of people named in leaked documents from Panama law firm Mossack Fonseca which showed the wealth management of the world's rich and powerful. Cameron said his father bequeathed some £300,000 ($424,000) to him, but did not say if any of that money had come from offshore funds. The prime minister said his father also held investments in a trust in Jersey, a British crown dependency with special tax laws.

There are indications that David Cameron's nor his father's actions were illegal, but the admission has fuelled a public perception that the Conservative Party protects the rich.

Mossack Fonseca director Ramon Fonseca has denied any wrongdoing. He said the firm had suffered a hack on its database and described the leak as "an international campaign against privacy", according to Reuters.

All of those implicated in the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICJI) Panama Papers report have been afforded the opportunity to respond. Visit the ICJI's website to read the responses.