Whistleblower and privacy advocate Edward Snowden was a bit surprised by a statement from David Cameron over the leaked Panama Papers.
The former NSA employee who revealed numerous covert global surveillance programs, of which he deemed disturbing and illegal, mocked the British Prime Minister’s insistence that his father’s implication in the list of high-profile tax evaders was “a private matter.”
According to the Huffington Post, the late Ian Cameron’s Blairmore Holdings Inc. company was set up in the 1980s and managed tens of millions of pounds for the wealthy, but has not paid tax on UK profits. Despite there being no suggestion that the leaked tax avoidance arrangements were anything but entirely legal, Cameron responded to the news by saying, “That is a private matter, I am focused on what the government is doing.”
Snowden, who was criticized by the prime minister for leaking classified information, slammed Cameron in a Twitter post on Monday:
Oh, now he's interested in privacy. https://t.co/jfCSYgensb
— Edward Snowden (@Snowden) April 4, 2016
As of today, the post has been retweeted over 22,000 times and, according to HuffPo, his sentiments have been echoed by others, including Carol Vordeman. The former Countdown co-host labelled Cameron a “hypocrite” saying, “It is a matter of utter hypocrisy.”
Oh no David Cameron… it is NOT a private matter.It is a matter of utter hypocrisy. https://t.co/RGWgyfs6x5
— Carol Vorderman (@carolvorders) April 5, 2016
Other public figures, including English rugby hooker Brian Moore, the Guardian‘s Tom Clark, and Kevin Maguire of the Mirror, have all taken to Twitter and issued statements criticizing Cameron.
Featured image: Number 10 (Flickr)
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