Panama Papers: Emma Watson latest star named in offshore data release

Harry Potter star Emma Watson has denied avoiding tax, after she became the latest public figure named in the Panama Papers data leak. She is listed as a beneficiary of a company based in the British Virgin Islands and her account was thought to have been added to the group of 200,000 offshore account details from the Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca, which are now available to view online.

However a spokesman for the 26-year-old actress said the account was set up for sole purpose of protecting her anonymity and safety.

"UK companies are required to publicly publish details of their shareholders and therefore do not give her the necessary anonymity required to protect her personal safety, which has been jeopardised in the past owing to such information being publicly available.

"Emma receives absolutely no tax or monetary advantages from this offshore company whatsoever - only privacy," the spokesman said, according to the Spectator, whose blogger Steerpike spotted her name in the published documents, among other celebrities such as Simon Cowell, Heather Mills and the Duchess of York.

Watson, who is said to be worth £35m, will appear in two films this year, starring alongside Tom Hanks in The Circle, and in a new version of Disney classic, Beauty and the Beast. The Harry Potter actress came to fame in the role of Hermione Granger in the film versions of JK Rowling's famous series and she once said she would take a year out from acting to campaign for feminism.