This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

Gisela Stuart, the Labour co-convenor of the Vote Leave campaign, is to be investigated by the parliamentary commissioner for standards over an alleged failure to declare interests in a company that offers tax planning for non-domiciled residents.



The MP for Edgbaston is facing claims that she only declared shareholdings in Vestra Wealth after being confronted about her interests in January.

Stuart has been a member of a partnership business, Vestra Wealth LLP, since July 2012, according to documents filed at Companies House.

The company advises individuals about their tax affairs and offers “offshore and international planning for non-domiciled and non-resident clients”. Its advisers say they have “a strong interest and expertise in advising UK resident, non-domiciled individuals”.

Involvement with this company is not, in itself, a breach of the rules. Martin Williams, the author of the book Parliament Ltd, asked the commissioner, Kathryn Hudson, to investigate Stuart last month following concerns that she may have breached the code of conduct regarding transparency and disclosure.

Stuart has become an increasingly prominent figure in Vote Leave as the focus has shifted on to the apparent weakness of the Labour vote in largely white, working-class areas.



Vestra Wealth was added to Stuart’s register of interests on 25 January 2016.

However, Williams alleges that this was the same day on which he approached Stuart for an interview and informed her that he was intending to write about her interests in Vestra Wealth.

According to the website TheyWorkForYou.com, Stuart “voted against introducing a general anti-abuse rule to tackle abusive tax avoidance” in 2013.

Last year, she ran to become chair of the public accounts committee, which investigates tax avoidance, promising to focus on a tax system that “eliminates aggressive avoidance”.

A spokeswoman for the commissioner said: “I can confirm that the commissioner has received an allegation of a breach of the rules of conduct by Ms Gisela Stuart MP and that the commissioner has decided to begin an inquiry. This information will be posted on the commissioner’s webpages shortly.”

Stuart told the Guardian that her interest in the company relates to her late husband’s partnership points for his employer prior to his death.

“I inherited the interest as part of my husband’s estate when he died in 2012. The probate value was below the level required for registration. Following Mr Williams’ visit, I asked for an updated valuation and was provided with a valuation.

“As a private partnership, there is no regular valuation of the business, as any such valuations are only carried out if there is a particular purpose, such as death or sale or purchase of interests. I then immediately registered the interest as required,” she said.

• This footnote was added on 8 December 2016. The parliamentary commissioner for standards found no evidence of a breach of the rules or of a failure to make a required declaration of interest and did not uphold the allegations.