Former Tory environment secretary failed to declare £70k Shell shares

Former Conservative Environment Secretary Theresa Villiers has revealed she held more than £70,000-worth of shares in Shell, which she failed to disclose at the time. Ms Villiers held the position from July 2019 until February 2020, but only this week revealed she had the large personal investment in the energy firm’s fortunes. Commons rules require MPs to declare shareholdings in any single company valued at more than £70,000. Only today did her official register receive the update, listing three such holdings in Diageo drinks manufacturer, Shell energy and Experian financial and credit data. The listing shows that Ms Villiers has held the Diageo and Shell shares since 23 February 2018, and the Experian shares since July 2019. Ms Villiers failed to register her interests (Image: Getty) She also registered two new shareholdings valued above the £70,000 threshold, which she bought on July 6 this year – RIT Capital Partners and Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust. A spokesperson for Ms Villiers said she deeply regretted her ‘failure to monitor the value of shareholdings and has offered her sincere apologies’. ‘It did not occur to her that any single shareholding would reach the threshold for declaration, but a legacy received in 2018 caused that to happen. As soon as she realised this, she alerted the registrar of members’ interests and the standards commissioner. ‘She takes full responsibility for the mistake. She accepts that it should never have happened, and that she should have kept track of the additions to her investment portfolio. She is taking steps to ensure that this never happens again. ‘Nothing she has ever said or done as an MP has been influenced by these shareholdings.’ Villiers’ Register of Interests (Image: Parliament) Ms Villier’s late declaration could mean she has breached MP rules and spark an investigation. Ministers have a separate way of declaring interests, in addition to those declared as an MP. However the register from her time as Environment Secretary also fails to list the Shell shares. Her Spokesperson told the Guardian she had disclosed her portfolio of shares to DEFRA upon receiving the Cabinet post, and had offered to place the shares in a blind trust as senior ministers often do. They added: ‘The prime minister’s ethics adviser said that this step was unnecessary because the portfolio was managed for her and she did not take investment decisions’. ‘So ministerial code requirements were complied with. Nothing she did as Defra secretary was influenced by any of these shareholdings.’ This morning, Treasury Minister John Glen said ‘she will make sure that it doesn’t happen again’. ‘She has apologised and it will be for others to make judgments on that.”