Labour has called Kemi Badenoch a “shambles” after it emerged she forgot to register as controller of the Conservative party companies, in a breach of corporate rules.
Badenoch, a former business secretary, became Conservative leader on 2 November but her predecessor Rishi Sunak was still registered as the controller of the party’s companies until the party was notified of the error last week.
Companies House states that it must be notified of any change in a company’s person of significant control within 14 days of the transfer.
The Conservatives filed an update to say Badenoch was a person of significant control on 30 January – the day the error was drawn to their attention by Labour.
A Labour spokesperson said: “For someone who doesn’t make mistakes, this looks an awful lot like another Kemi Badenoch gaffe. Thousands of people are able to register their businesses properly, but it looks beyond the Tories. What a complete shambles.
“Kemi Badenoch should quickly explain whether the Conservative party may have committed a criminal offence by not taking the proper action. The Tories have learned nothing and it appears they can’t even get their own house in order.”
The law on notification of persons of significant control was brought in by the Conservatives in 2016 and toughened in 2017 to require declarations to be made within 14 days.
Late filings are unlikely to result in enforcement action but anyone who does not respond to reminders or does not provide accurate information commits a criminal offence that could bring a two-year prison sentence, a fine or both.
Badenoch had updated her entry in the register of MPs’ interests to say she was in control of C&UCO Management Ltd, C&UCO Services Ltd, C&UCO Properties Ltd and the Conservative Party Foundation from 2 November onwards but this was not reflected on the official company register.
Badenoch has previously said she does not make gaffes, telling the Chopper’s Politics podcast last September: “I never have gaffes, or apologising for something that I said, [saying] ‘oh that’s not what I meant’, I never have to clarify, because I think very carefully about what I say.”
She was business secretary under Rishi Sunak from 2023 to 2024, and during that time vowed to scrap some regulations for businesses.
A Conservative party spokesperson said: “A report has been filed.”
