David Cameron has rejected calls for Take That singer Gary Barlow to hand back his OBE after it emerged he had put money into a scheme ruled to be set up for tax avoidance purposes.
The chair of the Commons Public Accounts Committee Margaret Hodge had suggested Barlow "might show a bit of contrition by giving back his OBE".
But the PM told ITV's Good Morning Britain that that was not necessary.
He added that Barlow had done a "huge amount" for the country.
During the interview Mr Cameron said he was against "aggressive tax avoidance schemes".
Charity workHe said: "If people go after these schemes and aggressively avoid tax they're making it the case that everyone else has to pay higher taxes as a result."
"We should be very clear: tax evasion is illegal, you can be prosecuted for that, you can go to prison.
"Tax avoidance is, in these cases, these very aggressive tax avoidance schemes, they are wrong and we should really persuade people not to do them, and that's why we have these court cases where the court looks at whether a scheme is more about avoiding tax than anything else.
"The court was very clear in this case."
But asked whether he agreed with Mrs Hodge that Barlow should consider returning his OBE, Mr Cameron said: "I don't think that is necessary, frankly.
"Gary Barlow has done a huge amount for the country, he's raised money for charity, he has done very well for Children in Need. The OBE was in respect of that work and what he has done.
"Clearly this scheme was wrong and it is right that they're going to have to pay back the money."
'Abuse of the system'Gary Barlow is one of three members of the band Take That who may have to pay back millions of pounds in tax after a tribunal ruling.
Barlow, Howard Donald and Mark Owen - along with manager Jonathan Wild - were among about 1,000 people who put money into schemes purportedly supporting the music industry.
But tribunal Judge Colin Bishopp ruled the partnerships had actually been set up for tax avoidance purposes.
HM Revenue and Customs said they would not "tolerate abuse of the system".
The Take That stars and their manager invested money through a company called Icebreaker.
Since March 2010, the four men have been directors of Larkdale LLP - one of 50 partnerships that Icebreaker arranged to harness tax reliefs that the government had intended would support those in creative industries.
The tribunal found that shortly after money was put in to Larkdale LLP, it reported huge losses of more than £25m.
Those losses could then be offset against tax, reducing the men's tax bills.
The BBC's Andrew Verity said that while Barlow, Donald, Owen and Wild could face repaying millions of pounds between them for the tax relief applied to the losses, the exact amount was not known.
While tax evasion is illegal, tax avoidance is not a criminal activity, he added.
HMRC said that following Judge Bishopp's decision, those involved would receive letters outlining how much tax they had to repay.
An HMRC spokesman told the BBC that "anyone using a scheme that HMRC deems to be against the rules owes them money".
In a statement, Lib Dem Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander said: "People who do not pay the tax that they should undermine the economy, damage our public services and place an extra unfair burden on hard-working families and companies who play by the rules.
"We inherited a tax system with more holes in it than a Swiss cheese. Recent high profile successes by HMRC are solid evidence that we are putting that right as part of our strategy to strengthen the economy and build a fairer society."
In total, the Icebreaker partnerships generated losses of £336m.
HMRC pursued the issue through the courts after the Times newspaper first exposed Icebreaker in 2012.
The members of the scheme have until 2 July to decide whether they want to appeal. HMRC said it would be seeking payment of the tax in the meantime.
The other members of Take That were not involved in the scheme.
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