In a surprising disclosure, former Environment Secretary Theresa Villiers, a Tory MP, has admitted to failing to declare significant shareholdings in oil company Shell during her tenure in the government. The revelation raises questions about transparency and accountability within the political realm.
Villiers confessed that she possessed shares valued at over £70,000 in Shell since February 2018, a fact she only revealed last month. Similar holdings in prominent companies such as Diageo and Experian were also belatedly disclosed. Her spokesman expressed her remorse for not actively monitoring the value of these shareholdings, emphasising that she had not initially realised they would surpass the required threshold for declaration.
Under parliamentary rules, MPs are obligated to declare all shareholdings exceeding £70,000. Villiers’ representative clarified that the shares were part of a professionally managed portfolio and asserted that her decisions and actions as an MP had not been influenced by these investments.
The former Environment Secretary stated that the oversight was unintentional and pledged to take measures to prevent its recurrence. She accepted full responsibility for the lapse and acknowledged the necessity of better tracking her investment portfolio.
Interestingly, these shareholdings were absent from the ministerial register of interests during Villiers’ tenure as environment secretary. Although she had offered to place her shares in a “blind” trust upon taking office, her proposal was deemed unnecessary by the prime minister’s ethics adviser at the time, Sir Alex Allan. He determined that Villiers was not actively making investment decisions as her portfolio was professionally managed.
Theresa Villiers, a Member of Parliament since 2005, has held various governmental roles, including a stint as Northern Ireland secretary. Her recent admission shines a light on the challenges of maintaining ethical standards and financial transparency among public officials. The incident underscores the importance of vigilant scrutiny of financial interests within the political sphere.
