A HOME OFFICE minister has admitted owning shares in a firm that sells computer systems to police forces.

Liam Byrne, a former aide to Tony Blair, retained a major stake in E-Government Solutions, a company he founded in 2000, despite becoming a minister in a government department with the power to increase the company’s value.

The business has contracts with eight police forces and is bidding for more work, according to a newspaper report today.

Although Byrne declared the shares in the Commons register of members’ interest, his entry does not reveal details of the company’s involvement with the police.

Byrne has denied any conflict of interest, with friends claiming his 21,000 shares are of little value. However, in a statement issued through the Home Office, he promised to sell his stake.

The Home Office insisted that the minister had followed all the correct procedures and was in the “active process” of disposing of the shares to avoid any possible misinterpretation.

The revelation is an embarrassment for the government and the Labour party, providing new ammunition to opposition MPs seeking to highlight sleaze in Tony Blair’s administration.

The Liberal Democrats condemned Byrne’s failure to sell the shares on joining the Home Office, where he is reponsible for nationality, citizenship and immigration.

Norman Baker, a Liberal Democrat MP, said: “Mr Byrne is very well connected with the Blair project and therefore would doubtless have come across issues relating to conflicts of interest as they have permeated the Blair government.”

EGS Group had a turnover of £1.4m in the six months to June this year.

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