Theresa Villiers: MP failed to declare she owned Shell shares worth £70,000 while working as environment secretary
A former Conservative minister failed to declare she held more than £70,000 in Shell shares while she was environment secretary.
Theresa Villiers admitted her shareholding in the oil and gas company in her latest update to the register of members’ financial interests.
Under the section “other shareholdings, valued at more than £70,000”, Ms Villiers’ entry says: “From 23 February 2018, Shell PLC; energy. (Registered 17 July 2023).”
Ms Villiers served in Boris Johnson’s cabinet as environment secretary from July 2019 until February 2020.
MPs are required to register any change to their registrable interests within 28 days.
A list of ministers’ interests from November 2019 did not include a mention of the shares for Ms Villiers.
The MP for Chipping Barnet’s latest entry also included newly declared shares above the threshold in Diageo from February 23 2018 and Experian PLC from July 29 2019.
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A spokesman for Ms Villiers told the Daily Mirror: “Ms Villiers deeply regrets her failure to monitor the value of shareholdings and has offered her sincere apologies.
“These shares are part of portfolio which is professionally managed for Ms Villiers and for which she has never taken day-to-day investment decisions.
“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.”
Sky News has approached Ms Villiers for a comment.
The FA has launched an investigation into allegations that suspended Premier League referee David Coote discussed giving a yellow card ahead of a match.
Mr Coote booked Leeds player Ezgjan Alioski during a match against West Brom in October 2019.
The Sun claims that the day before, he discussed carding the player with a Leeds fan he had met online, then after the game messaged him saying: “I hope you backed as discussed.”
Mr Coote insists nothing improper took place.
He said in a statement: “I strongly refute these false and defamatory allegations.
“Whatever issues I may have had in my personal life they have never affected my decision-making on the field.
“I have always held the integrity of the game in the highest regard, refereeing matches impartially and to the best of my ability.”
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An investigation has now been opened to get to the bottom of the claims surrounding the already-suspended referee.
Previously, a video emerged showing Mr Coote snorting a white powder.
That came after another video showed Mr Coote in a foul-mouthed rant about Liverpool FC and their then-boss Jurgen Klopp.
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After the most recent allegations, a spokesperson for Professional Game Match Officials Ltd (PGMOL) told Sky Sports News: “The facts need to be established in light of these very serious allegations.
“We adopt a zero-tolerance approach to any breach of our Integrity Code of Conduct, which is signed by all match officials on an annual basis.
“PGMOL Board is committed to taking the appropriate action should any breach of that Code be proven.
“David Coote remains suspended and subject to an ongoing disciplinary process by PGMOL, separate to the investigation into this matter which will be carried out independently by The FA.”
It added: “We will be making no further comment at this stage.”
Davina McCall has said she is feeling “stronger and stronger” every day after having brain tumour surgery.
In an update posted to Instagram, the TV presenter emphasised the importance of sleep during her recovery after having a benign brain tumour, known as a colloid cyst, removed.
Sporting a bruised left eye, McCall said she is being “brilliantly” looked after by her boyfriend, hairdresser Michael Douglas, and stepmum Gabby and is “just trying to sleep a lot” and “get better”.
Earlier this week, the star said she was suffering with short-term memory problems, due to the operation. But on Wednesday, she said that her memory is now “improving”.
“My short-term memory is really improving a lot every day,” she said, adding: “It has been an example to me of how much sleep helps me recover from everything.
Pic: Instagram/Davina McCall
“If I feel a bit confused or I’m struggling to concentrate, I just got to sleep, and I wake up just completely renewed and refreshed.
“I know that my brain needs lots of sleep.”
The 57-year-old ended the update by thanking fans for their “ongoing support”.
‘Out of the woods’
Speaking during a livestream on Tuesday, McCall’s partner Douglas said the star is “definitely out of the woods” during her recovery.
McCall with her partner Michael Douglas and her daughter Holly Robertson. Pic: PA
“She’s quite tired at the moment. She sleeps really well at night and goes to bed at 10pm and has a nap in the morning, and sleeps for two or three hours in the afternoon,” he said.
He added that the presenter is off work until mid-January and has “a lot of time to relax and recuperate”.
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Douglas told fans: “It’s been a very, very emotional and quite an incredible experience. We’re definitely out of the woods.”
McCall rose to fame presenting on MTV in the mid-1990s, and later on Channel 4’s Streetmate, before becoming a household name as the host of Big Brother from 2000 to 2010.
She has lived with Douglas since 2022, and together they present a weekly lifestyle podcast called Making The Cut.
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