BRITAIN: Tessa Jowell was yesterday facing renewed questions over her estranged husband's financial dealings. Last night the culture secretary denied David Mills had ever owned shares in a pub chain.
Reports at the weekend had claimed that Mr Mills made £67,000 from shares in the Old Monk Company. Documents obtained by Sky News last night were said to prove he was the "beneficial owner" of the company that owned the shares. Tory opponents said that should have been declared by Ms Jowell in the register of MPs' interests.
Last night Ms Jowell said she had never heard of the company or the transactions until the weekend. "I under- stand the shares were never owned by my husband," she said. But Italian pros- ecutors looking in Mr Mills's affairs have released letters suggesting a company owned by him did own the shares.
In a hand-written letter the beneficial owner of the company said she had transferred the shares to Mr Mills.
Raj Bairoliya, from accountancy firm LLP, told Sky: "It suggests that at that point the ownership of this company, Struie Holdings, has transferred from Marina Mahler [the beneficial owner] to Mr Mills. "Essentially that means to me that the shares have been transferred in his name to him."
Tory MP Nigel Evans said: "This is a declarable interest that should have been declared in the register of members' interests. It doesn't matter at the end of the day that his name wasn't on the share ownership. If it was on the company that owned the shares and he benefited from the profit, then clearly they were declarable."