Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has apologised after it emerged he failed to properly declare his interest in a company that purchased luxury flats in Southampton. The errors involved both Companies House and the parliamentary register of MPs' interests.
Hunt said the mistakes were 'honest administrative errors' and that he did not gain financially. He set up Mare Pond Properties Limited with his wife, Lucia Guo, to buy seven properties in the Ocean Village development on 7 February.
According to The Daily Telegraph, Hunt did not notify Companies House of his 50% stake in the company for six months. He also failed to inform the parliamentary register within the required 28-day limit.
A spokeswoman for Hunt said the errors were due to an accountant's oversight and that the Cabinet Office found no breach of the ministerial code. Hunt has apologised to the parliamentary authorities.
The revelation came while Hunt was in Tokyo for the Patient Safety global ministerial conference. A Downing Street spokesman reiterated that Hunt had apologised for an administrative oversight.
