Theresa Villiers “deeply regrets” not telling parliamentary authorities she had over £70,000 of holdings in the oil company reports David Floyd

Conservative MP Theresa Villiers wearing a hat while out campaigning in the rain in her Chipping Barnet constituency — Theresa Villiers campaigning in Chipping Barnet last week – (Credit – Theresa Villiers MP)

Chipping Barnet’s MP has expressed her regret after failing to declare shareholdings worth over seventy thousand pounds in a multinational oil company.

Theresa Villiers told the Daily Mirror that she “deeply regrets her failure” to declare holdings for over five years between February 2018 and last month. This period includes her time as Environment Secretary between July 2019 and February 2020.

MPs have to declare all shareholdings worth over £70,000 in the Register of Members Interests.

Villiers spokesperson said: ““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.”

Villiers’ local political opponents have strongly criticised the MP’s actions. The Green Party’s candidate to challenge Villiers in Chipping Barnet at the next election, David Farbey, expressed his surprise that she had held any shares in an oil company while serving as environment secretary.

He said: “What was the person in government with the responsibility to deliver its key environment policies – including moving us away from the use of fossil fuels – doing with shares in Shell in the first place?

“Of course it’s unacceptable that the former secretary of state didn’t register the shares when her holding increased in value. However, you have to question how serious the Conservatives are in tackling the climate crisis when the cabinet contains people deriving financial benefit from fossil fuel company shares of any value.

“We need representatives in parliament focussed on freeing us from our dependence on the oil and gas destroying our planet, and investing in the energy sources of the future – wind, sun and water.

Responding to the news on Twitter/X Labour’s candidate for Chipping Barnet, Dan Tomlinson said: “Chipping Barnet deserves a decent, honest MP – not one with mega shares in oil giants.”

Villiers had a majority of 1,212 over Labour at the 2019 general election.

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