Ex-Environment Secretary Theresa Villiers Caught Failing to Declare £70k Shell Shares
Villiers Admits to Missing Disclosure
Former Tory Environment Secretary Theresa Villiers has shockingly admitted she failed to declare significant shareholdings in oil giant Shell while in government. The MP owned over £70,000 worth of shares since February 2018 but only revealed them last month, sparking fresh questions about political transparency.
Late Disclosures Trigger Scandal
Alongside Shell, Villiers belatedly declared holdings in major firms like Diageo and Experian. Her spokesman said she hadn’t been actively tracking the share values and did not realise the total had crossed the mandatory £70,000 declaration threshold. Under parliamentary rules, MPs must declare such investments promptly.
‘Unintentional Oversight’ Says Villiers
Villiers insists this was an “unintentional oversight” and has pledged to tighten controls on monitoring her portfolio. She takes full responsibility and denies her political decisions were influenced by these shares, which formed part of a professionally managed investment scheme.
Ethics Adviser Gave Green Light on Blind Trust
Interestingly, these shares did not appear in her ministerial interests register while she was Environment Secretary. Though Villiers offered to put her shares in a “blind” trust, then-prime minister’s ethics adviser Sir Alex Allan ruled it unnecessary, as she wasn’t directly managing investments herself.
Villiers, an MP since 2005 and former Northern Ireland Secretary, now faces fresh scrutiny over maintaining ethics and financial transparency in politics. This revelation underlines the critical need for MPs to rigorously declare and monitor their financial interests.
