PM investigated over possible failure to declare wife’s shareholding in childcare firm
Parliament’s standards watchdog has opened an investigation into the prime minister over a possible failure to declare an interest when first asked.
The probe by the standards commissioner, Daniel Greenberg, was launched last Thursday and cited paragraph 6 of the MPs’ code of conduct, which governs how MPs should behave.
The code states that MPs “must always be open and frank in declaring 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 source said the investigation relates to the shares Rishi Sunak’s wife Akshata Murty holds in a childcare agency that could benefit from a policy announced in the budget.
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A spokesperson for Number 10 said: “We are happy to assist the commissioner to clarify how this has been transparently declared as a ministerial interest.”
Mr Sunak faced accusations of a possible conflict of interest after he failed to mention Ms Murty’s links to Koru Kids, a childcare agency, when he was questioned by MPs over why the announcement in the budget that childminders joining the profession will receive incentive payments favoured private firms.
The i newspaper revealed that Companies House listed her as a shareholder in the organisation as recently as 6 March.
Rishi Sunak and his wife Akshata Murty
In a letter to parliament’s liaison committee, which quizzed the PM last month, Mr Sunak said he had declared his interests in “the normal way”.
However, in his subsequent letter to the committee, he certified that this was in the ministers’ register, which had not been published at the time he gave evidence to MPs.
While the MPs’ register of interests requires members to declare any payments, donations or hospitality that might be reasonably considered to influence their work in parliament, the MPs’ code of conduct does not require them to record the interests of their spouses or partners.
However, the ministerial register of interests is governed by the ministerial code – which does require the declaration of “interests of the minister’s spouse or partner and close family which might be thought to give rise to a conflict”.
According to the Institute for Government, this distinction makes the ministerial register of interests stricter than that of the MPs’ register of interests.
Any potential punishment is far down the line, but this probe is clearly serious
The overall aim was to boost the number of childminders able to take up work, which came as part of a broader package about expanding childcare for parents of younger children as well.
The allegation is essentially that when Rishi Sunak was being asked about this, he hadn’t flagged up in that instant that his wife was a shareholder in an agency that would potentially benefit from this policy announcement.
Yes, it was out there in the media, but the rules and code of conduct of parliament is that you have to take formal steps to outline these potential interests so that any potential conflicts of interest between your political day job and personal interests are set out and transparent.
This investigation will go on to see whether the prime minister has declared his interests properly.
The defence from the prime minister is that actually because there’s a register of ministerial interests, where ministers declare potential financial interests or conflicts; because that hasn’t been updated for a year or so now, the new register of ministerial interests will have it detailed there.
The standards adviser investigates and comes back with a decision on whether the code of conduct has been broken.
If it has, that’s where the focus shifts onto what type of punishment should be imposed.
That’s quite far down the line, but it is clearly serious.
But critics, including the Labour chairman of the Standards Committee Chris Bryant, have called for the two registers to be combined because the ministerial register is published far less frequently and so is less visible to the public.
In his letter to the committee, Mr Sunak wrote: “I note that there has been some media coverage relating to the minority stake my wife has in relation to the company Koru Kids.
“I was being asked questions by the committee in my capacity as prime minister.
“I would like to clarify for the parliamentary record that this interest has rightly been declared to the Cabinet Office.”
The prime minister said the most recent list of ministerial interests would be published “shortly” by his independent ethics adviser, Sir Laurie Magnus.
Sunak’s wife at centre of the investigation – politics latest
“This regime ensures that steps are taken to avoid or mitigate any potential conflict of interest, and that the interests of ministers’ spouses or partners are not something that would influence their actions either as ministers or as members of parliament,” he added.
Mr Sunak has previously said that “transparency is really important” for parliament to operate well.
In reaction to Sky News’ Westminster Accounts project launched in January, the prime minister said there was a reason that “rules and regulations” are in place.
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Sunak: ‘Transparency is important’
“I think transparency is really important for the healthy functioning of democracy, it’s absolutely right that there’s disclosures around donations and outside interests,” he said.
Mr Sunak wrote to the liaison committee to follow up on points that were raised at its session with the prime minister last month.
Labour MP Catherine McKinnell pointed out that six private childcare agencies were set to benefit from Jeremy Hunt’s budget, in which the chancellor announced a pilot of incentive payments of £600 for childminders joining the profession – a sum that doubles to £1,200 if they sign up through an agency.
Ms McKinnell quizzed Mr Sunak on the logic behind making the bonus twice as much for childminders who sign up through private agencies.
His response was that the policy was “designed in consultation with the sector”.
Pressed again on the rationale, he said: “I think it’s a reflection of the fact that they are through intermediaries so there are additional costs.
“And, ultimately, we want to make sure the policy is effective in bringing additional people into the system.”
Rishi Sunak giving evidence to the liaison committee in March
Asked if he had any interest to declare, Mr Sunak replied: “No, all my disclosures are declared in the normal way.”
The Liberal Democrats previously said that Ms Murty’s shareholding raised “serious questions” for Mr Sunak and called on Sir Laurie to investigate.
In response to the launch of the investigation, Liberal Democrat chief whip Wendy Chamberlain said: “Another day and another accusation of a Conservative prime minister bending the rules.
“This is on the same day that Rishi Sunak may have broken election rules for his government announcement today.
“After months of Conservative sleaze and scandal, the public just want a government which is focused on the country, rather than saving their own skin.”
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Labour’s Deputy Leader Angela Rayner said: “This government’s failure to update the rules or publish a register of ministers’ interests in nearly a year has left a transparency black hole which is enabling the prime minister and those he has appointed to dodge proper scrutiny of their affairs.
“If Rishi Sunak has got nothing to hide, he should commit to publishing the register before May’s elections so the public can see for themselves.
“While this prime minister fails to deliver the integrity he promised and preserves the rotten standards regime he inherited as the Tories resist tighter rules, Labour has a plan to clean up politics with an Independent ethics and integrity commission to restore standards in public life.”
The prime minister is just the latest MP to be investigated by the commissioner, who is looking into the behaviour of six MPs in total.
Last week investigations were opened into three MPs, including former health secretary Matt Hancock, Tory MP Henry Smith and independent MP Scott Benton.
UK
No 10 backs Chancellor Rachel Reeves and says she ‘is going nowhere’ after tearful appearance in Commons
Rachel Reeves has not offered her resignation and is “going nowhere”, Downing Street has said, following her tearful appearance in the House of Commons.
A Number 10 spokesperson said the chancellor had the “full backing” of Sir Keir Starmer, despite Ms Reeves looking visibly upset during Prime Minister’s Questions.
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A spokesperson for the chancellor later clarified that Ms Reeves had been affected by a “personal matter” and would be working out of Downing Street this afternoon.
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UK government bond prices fell by the most since October 2022, and the pound tumbled after Ms Reeves’s Commons appearance, while the yield on the 10-year government bond, or gilt, rose as much as 22 basis points at one point to around 4.68%.
Downing Street’s insistence came despite Sir Keir refusing to guarantee that Ms Reeves would stay as chancellor until the next election following the fallout from the government’s recent welfare U-turn.
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch branded the chancellor the “human shield” for the prime minister’s “incompetence” just hours after he was forced to perform a humiliating U-turn over his controversial welfare bill.
Speaking at Prime Minister’s Questions, Ms Badenoch said: “This man has forgotten that his welfare bill was there to plug a black hole created by the chancellor. Instead they’re creating new ones.”
Turning to the chancellor, the Tory leader added: “[She] is pointing at me – she looks absolutely miserable.
“Labour MPs are going on the record saying that the chancellor is toast, and the reality is that she is a human shield for his incompetence. In January, he said that she would be in post until the next election. Will she really?”
Not fully answering the question, the prime minister replied: “[Ms Badenoch] certainly won’t.
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Welfare vote ‘a blow to the prime minister’
“I have to say, I’m always cheered up when she asks me questions or responds to a statement because she always makes a complete mess of it and shows just how unserious and irrelevant they are.”
Mrs Badenoch interjected: “How awful for the chancellor that he couldn’t confirm that she would stay in place.”
The prime minister’s watered-down Universal Credit and Personal Independent Payment Bill, aimed at saving £5bn, was backed by a majority of 75 in a tense vote on Tuesday evening.
A total of 49 Labour MPs voted against the bill – the largest rebellion in a prime minister’s first year in office since 47 MPs voted against Tony Blair’s Lone Parent benefit in 1997, according to Professor Phil Cowley from Queen Mary University.
After multiple concessions made due to threats of a Labour rebellion, many MPs questioned what they were voting for as the bill had been severely stripped down.
They ended up voting for only one part of the plan: a cut to Universal Credit (UC) sickness benefits for new claimants from £97 a week to £50 from 2026/7.
Ms Badenoch said the climbdown was proof that Sir Keir was “too weak to get anything done”.
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Ms Reeves has also borne a lot of the criticism over the handling of the vote, with some MPs believing that her strict approach to fiscal rules has meant she has approached the ballooning welfare bill from the standpoint of trying to make savings, rather than getting people into work.
Experts have now warned that the welfare U-turn, on top of reversing the cut to winter fuel, means that tax rises in the autumn are more likely – with Ms Reeves now needing to find £5bn to make up for the policy U-turns.
Asked by Ms Badenoch whether he could rule out further tax rises – something Labour promised it would not do on working people in its manifesto – Sir Keir said: “She knows that no prime minister or chancellor ever stands at the despatch box and writes budgets in the future.
“But she talks about growth, for 14 years we had stagnation, and that is what caused the problem.”
Prosecutors are considering whether to bring further criminal charges against Lucy Letby over the deaths of babies at two hospitals where she worked
The Crown Prosecution Service said it had received “a full file of evidence from Cheshire Constabulary asking us to consider further allegations in relation to deaths and non-fatal collapses of babies at the Countess of Chester Hospital and Liverpool Women’s Hospital”.
“We will now carefully consider the evidence to determine whether any further criminal charges should be brought,” it added.
“As always, we will make that decision independently, based on the evidence and in line with our legal test.”
Letby, 35, was found guilty of murdering seven children and attempting to murder seven more between June 2015 and June 2016 while working in the neonatal unit of the Countess of Chester Hospital and is currently serving 15 whole-life orders.
Letby worked at the Countess of Chester Hospital and Liverpool Women’s Hospital
She is understood to have carried out two work placements at Liverpool Women’s Hospital, where she trained as a student, between October and December 2012, and January and February 2015.
Police said in December that Letby was interviewed in prison as part of an investigation into more baby deaths and non-fatal collapses.
A Cheshire Constabulary spokesperson said: “We can confirm that Cheshire Constabulary has submitted a full file of evidence to the CPS for charging advice regarding the ongoing investigation into deaths and non-fatal collapses of babies at the neo-natal units of both the Countess of Chester Hospital and the Liverpool Women’s Hospital as part of Operation Hummingbird.”
Detectives previously said the investigation was looking into the full period of time that Letby worked as a nurse, covering the period from 2012 to 2016 and including a review of 4,000 admissions of babies.
Letby’s lawyer Mark McDonald said: “The evidence of the innocence of Lucy Letby is overwhelming,” adding: “We will cross every bridge when we get to it but if Lucy is charged I know we have a whole army of internationally renowned medical experts who will totally undermine the prosecution’s unfounded allegations.”
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Three managers at the hospital where Lucy Letby worked have been arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter.
On Tuesday, it was confirmed that three managers at the Countess of Chester hospital had been arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter in a separate investigation.
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Police said the suspects, who occupied senior positions at the hospital between 2015 and 2016, have all been bailed pending further inquiries.
There is also an investigation into corporate manslaughter at the hospital, which began in October 2023.
A public inquiry has also been examining the hospital’s response to concerns raised about Letby before her arrest.
In May, it was announced the inquiry’s final report into how the former nurse was able to commit her crimes will now be published early next year.
Earlier this year, Letby’s lawyers called for the suspension of the inquiry, claiming there was “overwhelming and compelling evidence” that her convictions were unsafe.
In February, an international panel of neonatologists and paediatric specialists told reporters that poor medical care and natural causes were the reasons for the collapses and deaths.
Their evidence has been passed to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), which investigates potential miscarriages of justice, and Letby’s legal team hopes her case will be referred back to the Court of Appeal.
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