Tory MP's response to the party's latest scandal leaves people outraged

A Tory MP has responded to news that Theresa Villiers failed to declare stakes in Shell while she was environment minister, and left people fuming more than ever.

Tory MP Villiers has held a stake in the firm worth over £70,000 since February 2018, a year before she was appointed to Defra under Boris Johnson in July 2019, a role she held until February 2020.

But despite parliamentary rules, she only declared it last month along with similar holdings in drinks giant Diageo and finance firm Experian, as first reported by the Mirror.

A spokesperson for Villier said her shared were professionally managed and she did not take day-to-day investment decisions. They added it was a mistake and that she "offered her sincere apologies" but people were still outraged by it.

So today, Tory MP John Glen was asked about the case on Sky News, and he wound people up even more.

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He said: "I think she's apologised, she's admitted the mistake."

He added: "She's been very clear in apologising, it was an oversight on her part, and she will correct it and make sure it doesn't happen again."

Responding to his interview, people on social media thought the mistake was more than an "oversight":

A spokesperson for Villiers said she deeply regretted her “failure to monitor the value of shareholdings and has offered her sincere apologies”, adding that the shares were professionally managed and she did not take day-to-day investment decisions.

The spokesperson added: “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. Nothing she has ever said or done as an MP has been influenced by these shareholdings.”

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