Lord Sainsbury omits to detail fortune on register

The Science minister Lord Sainsbury of Turville has not declared his £4bn fortune in the register of peers' interests.

MPs, peers and environmentalists are dismayed that the Labour peer makes no mention of the "blind trust" managing his substantial investments. The science ministerdeclares he has two houses in Westminster, while his wife owns a house in Stratford-upon-Avon and a partnership in a nursery school.

Critics observe that his cousin, the Tory peer Lord Sainsbury of Preston Candover, declares under the heading "significant shareholdings" that he is "owner of 1.65 per cent of the equity of J. Sainsbury plc". They believe that the minister should "act in good faith" and declare under the same heading that he has a personal fortune managed by a trust.

Last night MPs called for him to "correct" the register. "I am surprised that Lord Sainsbury has not registered his substantial interests, particularly given his key role in government," said Norman Baker, Liberal Democrat spokesman on Freedom of Information.

Lord Sainsbury put his shareholdings in a blind trust when he joined the Government as a Department of Trade and Industry minister in 1998. He thus has no knowledge of, or control over his shares "to avoid any actual or potential conflict of interest" with his public responsibilities.

He is not technically obliged by Parliament to mention his trust in the register, but other peers point out that many others make a point of being open by listing all of their interests.

A spokesman for Lord Sainsbury said he had abided by all the rules on disclosure. "He doesn't have to list them in the register, there is no requirement," he said.