Jacob Rees-Mogg has admitted his investment firm makes money from abortion pills, despite recently saying he was against abortion even if a woman has been raped.
The devout catholic, tipped as a potential replacement for Theresa May as Tory leader, defended the company’s £5million stake in an Indonesian firm called Kalbe Farma.
Kalbe Farma produces termination drug misoprostol – sold under the brand name Invitec.
Invitec is made to treat stomach ulcers but is widely used to trigger terminations in Indonesia, where abortions are illegal.
Mr Rees-Mogg told the Sunday Mirror: “It would be wrong to pretend that I like it but the world is not always what you want it to be.
“Kalbe Farma obeys Indonesian law so it’s a legitimate investment and there’s no hypocrisy. The law in Indonesia would satisfy the Vatican.”
The 48-year-old co-founded Somerset Capital Management in 2007 but has not personally managed investments since becoming an MP in 2010. None of his own money is invested in the fund.
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.”
He said: “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 North East Somerset MP recently told ITV’s Good Morning Britain that he completely opposed abortion and believed it should never be an option even if a woman has become pregnant as a result of rape.
Asked if his opposition to abortion included in cases of rape, he said: “I’m afraid so. Life is sacrosanct and begins at the point of conception, and I think it is wrong.”
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