18.04.18
Hunt under investigation over failure to declare luxury flats
The Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards has added health and social care secretary Jeremy Hunt’s name to its list of MPs currently under investigation.
The probe comes after he failed to declare the purchase of seven luxury flats to the Companies House and parliamentary register of MPs interest and was forced to apologise for an “honest” and “administrative” mistake.
The Daily Telegraph also reported that Hunt failed to notify the Companies House of his 50% interest in Mare Pond Properties Limited and did not inform the parliamentary register of MPs interests of his share in the business within the 28-day limit.
Failure to disclose interests can be punishable by a fine or up to two years in prison.
Labour referred Hunt to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards for an alleged breach of paragraph 13 of the code of conduct, which states: “Members shall fulfil conscientiously the requirements of the House in respect of the registration of interests in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests.
“They shall always be open and frank in drawing attention to any relevant interest in any proceeding of the House or its Committees, and in any communications with ministers, members, public officials or public office holders.”
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 that matter closed.”
A spokeswoman for Hunt added: “These were honest administrative mistakes which have already been rectified. Jeremy’s accountant made an error in the Companies House filing which was a genuine oversight.”