Jacob Rees-Mogg admitted today that his investment firm makes money from pills used in abortions.
The Tory darling, seen by some as an unlikely candidate to replace the Prime Minister, is a staunch Catholic who opposes abortion in all circumstances.
But he defended the investment in the Indonesian firm Kalbe Farma. Mr Rees-Mogg’s firm holds a £5million stake in the firm on behalf of clients. None of the MP’s own cash is invested.
The North East Somerset MP denied a charge of hypocrisy, insisting his religious beliefs did not govern investment decisions by Somerset Capital Management, the investment firm he co-founded in 2007 and is still a partner of.
Jacob Rees-Mogg (file image) admitted today that his investment firm makes money from pills used in abortions
Mr Rees-Mogg has not personally managed funds at the firm since first entering Parliament in 2010.
Kalbe Farme produces and markets the pills as a treatment for stomach ulcers but they also trigger terminations. The drug is widely used for this purpose in Indonesia where abortion is illegal.
Mr Rees-Mogg told the Sunday Mirror, which exposed the investment today, that ‘it would be wrong to pretend that I like it but the world is not always what you want it to be’.
He said: ‘Kalbe Farma obeys Indonesian law so it’s a legitimate investment and there’s no hypocrisy. The law in Indonesia would satisfy the Vatican.’
In an earlier phone call, Mr Rees-Mogg said he had been unaware the company made the drug.
But he added: ‘I don’t manage the funds and haven’t done so since I became an MP. But the funds have to be run in accordance with the requirements of the investors and not according to my religious beliefs.
‘This is not something I would wish to invest in personally but you have a duty as an investment manager not to impose constraints on investors.’
Mr Rees-Mogg accepted he did profit ‘in a very roundabout way’.
The Tory darling, seen by some as an unlikely candidate to replace the Prime Minister, is a staunch Catholic who opposes abortion in all circumstances
He went on: ‘This company does not procure the abortion of babies. It’s not my money in these investments and I profit from the total amount of client money we hold, not the investments we make.’
The MP ran into controversy over the summer after his unlikely hopes of becoming Tory leader burst into public view.
In a breakfast TV interview he confirmed his faith did mean he was opposed to abortion in all circumstances, including rape and incest.
Mr Rees-Mogg also confirmed he remained opposed to gay marriage.
His insistence that his religious beliefs would not change the law of the land did little to stem a backlash from critics who accused him of being out of step with modern Britain.
Katherine O’Brien, of the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, said Mr Rees-Mogg’s ‘extreme’ views were ‘wildly at odds’ with public opinion.
She added: ‘Every politician is entitled to their own opinion on abortion. ‘But what matters is whether they would let their own personal convictions stand in the way of women’s ability to act on their own.’
Theresa May also let it be known she did not agree with the backbencher, while Tory MP Margot James called his views ‘utterly abhorrent’.