David Cameron's father left assets in Jersey tax haven for family to inherit

David Cameron’s father left assets offshore in the tax haven of Jersey when he died more than four years ago, it has been reported.

The move emerged after Channel 4 News obtained a “grant of probate” filed in Jersey which was attached to the late Mr Cameron’s English will. Lawyers said the document would only have been filed if Ian Cameron’s assets in Jersey were worth more than £10,000.

The stockbroker, who died of a stroke in 2010 at the age of 77, had helped to run a multi-million pound investment fund on the island until 2009. He £2.7m in his will, of which his son received £300,000.

A spokesman for the Prime Minister said he knew nothing about the writing of the will and full inheritance tax was paid on his late father’s estate.

The grant of probate was filed with Jersey’s Royal Court in March 2011, six months after Cameron senior died.

It names his widow Mary, his son Alex and his daughter Tania as executors.

Mark Renouf, a partner in the Jersey law firm Hanson Renouf Advocates, told Channel 4 News: “The only reason to have that document is because there are some assets situated in Jersey.

“We can’t tell from the documentation, which is very normal, how much those assets were worth, except to say that there is no point in doing this if they were valued at less than £10,000, because you don’t need to have a grant of probate under that value.”

Mr Renouf said the structure of the will meant any Jersey assets would go to Mary Cameron. There is no suggestion of any illegality or wrongdoing by Ian Cameron or his family.

A spokesman for the Prime Minister said: “The shares in question were a small part of the estate. Inheritance tax was paid on all of the estate.

“Any suggestion this was done to avoid paying tax is entirely false.”

The spokesman said Mr Cameron did not “have any offshore assets, accounts or private shareholdings of any description”.

He added: “In Government, Conservatives have done more than any other party to crack down on tax avoidance and evasion, delivering £7bn of annual savings over this parliament.”

According to other papers obtained by Channel 4 News, Cameron senior owned shares in a Jersey fund he helped to manage, the Close International Equity Growth Fund.

Filings shortly before he resigned in 2009 showed he held at least 6,000 shares in the fund.

It was reported in 2012 that Cameron set up funds in tax havens such as Panama City and Geneva in 1979, after controls on taking capital out of Britain were scrapped by the Thatcher government. The methods he used are now employed by hedge funds.