Thousands of protesters demand David Cameron’s resignation after Panama Papers allegations

By
Jeremy Berke, Business Insider US
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Demonstrators hold placards during a protest outside Downing Street in Whitehall, central London, April 9, 2016.
source
REUTERS/Neil Hall

On Saturday morning, a huge crowd of protesters gathered in front of 10 Downing Street, the prime minister’s official residence in London, demanding David Cameron’s resignation.

Documents from the massive Panama Papers leak show that Cameron profited from Blairmore Holdings, an offshore investment fund, according to The New York Times.

The fund was run by Cameron’s father and never paid any tax in the UK.

Cameron initially said that he had not profited from any offshore funds, but the documents show that he made $42,160 in profit from selling the shares in Blairmore from 2010, per The New York Times.

Cameron had previously condemned wealthy British corporations and individuals who had set up offshore accounts to avoid paying taxes in the UK, according to The New York Times.

Cameron addressed his supporters on Saturday at the Conservative Party spring forum while protesters chanted for his resignation outside of 10 Downing.

“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,” Cameron told his supporters, according to The Guardian. “I sold those shares, in fact I sold all the shares that I owned on becoming prime minister.”

He also pledged that he would be “completely transparent,” about publishing everything in his tax returns, The Guardian reported.

“It has not been a great week,” Cameron quipped to his supporters, per the UK Sun. “I know that I should have handled this better. I could have handled this better.”

And many people are furious and have called for Cameron’s resignation.

The protesters first gathered outside 10 Downing in the morning, and marched to the Conservative Party forum at the Grand Connaught Rooms in Covent Garden, according to The Guardian.

“We’re hoping to have a fun, tropical party vibe and to get ordinary people out rather than committed activist types,” Abi Wilkinson, one of the event’s organizers, told The Huffington Post.

See below for some pictures and tweets from London:

The protests started outside of 10 Downing Street.

source
REUTERS/Neil Hall

Protesters started gathering in front of 10 Downing Street this morning.

They carried signs and placards demanding Cameron’s resignation.

An effigy of Cameron as a pig was front and center at the protests.

The protestors conducted a mass sit-down in front of 10 Downing.

Police detained a protester outside of 10 Downing Street.

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REUTERS/Neil Hall

They demanded Cameron’s resignation and for his Tory party to leave the government.

Some of the signs were pretty creative.

The protesters marched to the Grand Connaught Rooms, where Cameron was speaking to the Conservative Party forum.

The protesters numbered in the thousands.

Protesters held signs pointing out their frustrations with how Cameron handled the Panama Papers revelations.

source
REUTERS/Neil Hall