Jeremy Hunt 'proud' as he nets £14.4m from business sale amid NHS crisis

Jeremy Hunt has pocketed an estimated £14.4m from the sale of a business he says he is "incredibly proud of", amid criticism of his handling of the NHS winter crisis.

Confirmation of the sale of Hotcourses came hours after Sky News revealed the looming windfall for the Health Secretary as he fights an increasingly intense political battle over latest NHS winter crisis.

The cash payout reportedly makes Mr Hunt, who has presided over a spat with junior doctors over changes to pay, the richest member of the Cabinet.

The education course listings service, which employs almost 300 staff, was sold to Australian firm IDP Education (Frankfurt: 30434685.F - news) for £30.1m.

Mr Hunt is understood to have owned 48% of the shares in Hotcourses but has had no influence on the running of the 20-year old business since becoming an MP in 2005.

He said today: "I am incredibly proud to have set up a successful business, even prouder of the current Hotcourses team who have taken it from strength to strength, and intend to use a significant proportion of the proceeds to campaign for causes I believe in when I eventually leave frontline politics."

News of the windfall is politically awkward for Mr Hunt on a number of levels - not just amid the row over NHS funding .

He is among Cabinet ministers facing questions about private wealth as Prime Minister Theresa May signals a willingness to crack down on excessive corporate pay.

She (Munich: SOQ.MU - news) herself has been urged to disclose the contents of a blind trust held in her name, which was created when she took office in Downing Street last summer.