After details of ‘secret’ shares in publicly listed companies were published in a national newspaper, a Lincolnshire MP named in the story has called it “immaterial”.
It came after the newspaper revealed over 50 MPs held ‘secret’ shares in public companies across energy, housing, banking and retail sectors, bringing questions around possible conflicts of interest that the public may previously have not known about. Gainsborough’s Sir Edward Leigh appears three times in the story, with his shares in energy firm Centrica, National Grid, and communications company International Distribution Services disclosed.
Shares of over £70,000 in any single company must be made clear in MPs’ financial interests register.It also raises questions over potential conflicts of interest, with Centrica, the owner of British Gas, announcing in February that £750 million of its record £3.3bn profits would be going back to shareholders.