TV & Radio

Comedian Jimmy Carr has made his first official statements just days after an investigative report found that he was using a controversial tax shelter scheme.

The comic was the subject of an investigation by The Times and was found to have been using the K2 tax avoidance scheme, a UK legal tax shelter that meant he was paying little to no tax on earnings of over £3 million each year.

The bombshell was even referenced by British PM David Cameron, who yesterday called the use of the scheme "morally wrong", while Carr has heckled at a show hours after the news emerged.

"I appreciate as a comedian, people will expect me to 'make light' of this situation, but I'm not going to in this statement, as this is obviously a serious matter," tweeted Carr today.

"I met with a financial advisor and he said to me 'Do you want to pay less tax? It's totally legal'. I said 'Yes'. I now realise I've made a terrible error of judgement.

"Although I've been advised the K2 Tax scheme is entirely legal, and has been fully disclosed to HMRC (Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs), I'm no longer involved in it and will in future conduct my financial affairs much more responsibly. Apologies to everyone. Jimmy Carr."

Downing Street today welcomed the comedian's apology, with a spokeswoman stating: "HMRC are working hard to investigate the sort of scheme that Jimmy Carr had been reported to be involved in to ensure that they are not aggressively avoiding tax, and, if they are, they are closed down."