Jeremy Hunt forced to apologise for breaching money laundering rules over property firm
2 min read
Jeremy Hunt has been forced to apologise after he failed to declare a stake in a company which bought luxury flats on the south coast.
In a major embarrassment, the Health Secretary admitted breaching money laundering legislation brought in by his own government by failing to notify Companies House or the parliamentary register of MPs' interests of his stake in Mare Pond Properties Limited – which hoovered up seven flats in Southampton’s luxury Ocean Village development.
Laws introduced by the Conservatives in 2016 made it compulsory for anyone holding a share of 25% or more in a firm to declare their interest within 28 days. Failure to comply is punishable by a fine or up to two years in prison.
According to The Daily Telegraph, Mr Hunt registered his stake in the company six months later after being alerted by a member of the public.
Mr Hunt said that he had rectified the issue before the revelations came to light, and the error was a result of an “honest administrative mistake”.
A spokesperson for Mr Hunt said: “Jeremy’s accountant made an error in the Companies House filing which was a genuine oversight. With respect to ministerial and parliamentary declarations, the Cabinet Office are clear that there has been no breach of the ministerial code.
“Jeremy declared the interest to them after the company was set up. They advised that as it was a shell company with no assets or value, it should only be registered when it became operational.
“As such, Jeremy presumed the same rules applied to parliamentary declarations. Although there was no personal gain involved, Jeremy accepts these mistakes are his responsibility and has apologised to the parliamentary authorities.”
But Sir Alistair Graham, former chair of the Committee on Standards in Public Life, said that Mr Hunt should face a “political price” for the error.
“It is a very poor show when ministers, who you expect to take on leadership in standards and public life, do not meet the rules they are required to meet.
“If there has been a failure of leadership, there should be a political price for it. Either in terms of the damage to your reputation or to action by the Prime Minister in the case of the ministerial code, or by the Committee on Standards, which reports to the full House of Commons.”
A Downing Street spokesman said: “Jeremy has rightly apologised for an administrative oversight, and as the Cabinet Office have made clear there has been no breach of the ministerial code.
“We consider the matter closed.”
PoliticsHome Newsletters
PoliticsHome provides the most comprehensive coverage of UK politics anywhere on the web, offering high quality original reporting and analysis: Subscribe
