David Cameron is being labelled a 'hypocrite' after admitting that he owned shares in his late father, Ian Cameron's, offshore trust.
The prime minister's confession has left many questioning his previous statements on tax avoidance.
In 2012 the Tory leader slammed the stand-up comic Jimmy Carr, calling him "morally wrong" for putting his earnings into a "very dodgy tax avoiding scheme".
While in 2013 Cameron made a speech to set out the main priorities for the UK's Presidency of the G8.
He said: "Now of course there’s nothing wrong with sensible tax planning and there are some things that governments want people to do that reduce tax bills, such as investing in a pension, a start up business or giving money to a charity.
"But there are some forms of avoidance that have become so aggressive that I think it is right to say these raise ethical issues, and it is time to call for more responsibility and for governments to act accordingly."
A leak of 11 million documents, named the Panama Papers, exposed how the rich and powerful use tax havens to shield their wealth and included Ian Cameron’s Blairmore Holdings.
At first Cameron insisted that his connection to the company was a "private matter", before revealing in an interview with ITV News on Thursday that he had owned shares.
The prime minister has insisted it is a “fundamental misconception” that Blairmore Holdings was set up to avoid tax, saying his father Ian is being “unfairly written about”.
Despite this SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon said the way Cameron slowly released the information has left his "credibility in tatters".
She added: "And to claim that the UK government is cracking down on offshore investments and tax havens while blocking EU moves to increase transparency is utterly hypocritical."
Labour MP Jess Phillips also hit out at the prime minister in a blog on The Huffington Post UK.
"It is really, really hard to say if you’ve made a mistake. It takes courage. The UK prime minister had a chance to show courage, he had a chance to give us some faith in politicians. Instead he was a coward. A coward who cheats. Same old, same old," she wrote.