Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has declared his wife’s shares in a company that is set to benefit from the budget after an investigation was launched into his possible breach of the rules.
The delayed list of ministerial interests, published on Wednesday, contained a reference to “a number of direct shareholdings” owned by Akshata Murty for the first time.
Parliament’s standards watchdog is investigating Mr Sunak following claims he did not declare his wife’s shares in Koru Kids.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced a pilot of bonus payments for new childminders in his budget this year.
He said he would be “piloting incentive payments” of £600 for childminders who sign up to the profession, but this rose to £1,200 for those who joined through an agency. Koru Kids is one of those agencies.
Mr Sunak’s team insisted he had followed the rules by declaring the shares as a ministerial interest, rather than to the Commons.
But the list of ministers’ interests had not been updated for nearly a year until its publication shortly before Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer had urged Mr Sunak to “come clean” and publish his financial interests to clear up whether there has been a conflict of interest.
Under the section for relevant interests held by a spouse or close relative, Mr Sunak‘s entry includes his wife’s venture capital company Catamaran Ventures and unnamed “direct shareholdings”.
“The Prime Minister’s wife is a venture capital investor,” it states. “She owns a venture capital investment company, Catamaran Ventures UK Limited, and a number of direct shareholdings.”
A note adds that these include her “minority shareholding” in Koru Kids, which Mr Sunak declined to mention when questioned by MPs last month over why one of his policies specifically benefited childminders who sign up through private agencies.
