Fury as Cabinet minister Robert Jenrick ducks questioning by MPs over his approval for a £1billion London housing development that saved Tory donor Richard Desmond from a £50million tax bill
- Housing Secretary gave the green light to Desmond’s plan to build 1,500 homes
- Local council and Planning Inspectorate had both said it should be refused
- Weeks later the former-Express owner gave Conservatives £12,000 donation
Robert Jenrick sparked fury today as he sent a junior minister in his place to answer questions about his role in approving a £1 billion property development for a media tycoon who donated money to the Conservatives.
Figures from the Electoral Commission show that Richard Desmond donated £12,000 to the party in January after the Housing Secretary gave the green light to his plan to build 1,500 homes at Westferry Printworks in east London.
Mr Jenrick gave the last-minute go-ahead to the project after both the local council and the independent Planning Inspectorate had decided it should be refused.
His decision on January 14 came one day before Tower Hamlets Council approved a ‘community levy’ on developments that would have cost Mr Desmond’s company Northern and Shell between £30million and £50million.
Labour raised an Urgent Question in the House of Commons over the matter today but instead of coming to the Despatch Box himself Mr Jenrick sent Chris Pincher, his deputy.
It sparked Labour accusations, denied by Mr Jenrick’s team, that he was hiding from scrutiny, with shadow Communities secretary Steve Reed tweeting: ‘He’s sent a junior minister to do battle for him but apparently he’s on the estate and has been spotted in the tea room…’
This afternoon Ed Davey the acting Lib Dem leader, wrote to Cabinet Secretary Mark Sedwill to ask for an investigation into whether the ministerial code had been broken.
‘If this investigation finds that Mr Jenrick has broken the Code, then he must resign immediately,’ Mr Davey said.
Mr Jenrick gave the last-minute go-ahead to the project after both the local council and the independent Planning Inspectorate had decided it should be refused
Labour raised an Urgent Question in the House of Commons over the matter today but instead of coming to the Despatch Box himself Mr Jenrick sent Chris Pincher, his deputy
It sparked Labour accusations that he was hiding from scrutiny, with shadow Communities secretary Steve Reed tweeting: ‘He’s sent a junior minister to do battle for him but apparently he’s on the estate and has been spotted in the tea room…’
Speaking in the chamber Mr Reed added: ‘The Secretary of State will not have the public confidence he needs to overhaul the planning system until we have full transparency over his unlawful decision to force through the Westferry development.’
He added: ‘The ministerial code requires ministers to act with integrity, so did the Secretary of State disclose his conversation with Mr Desmond to the department before he granted permission?
‘And since these circumstances clearly raise a question of bias, why did the Secretary of State not immediately recuse himself from taking this decision?
‘The Secretary of State gave the scheme consent one day before the community infrastructure levy came in to force, so did he know he was helping Mr Desmond dodge a potential £50 million tax bill?
Mr Desmond, who sold the Daily Express and Daily Star newspapers two years ago, wants to redevelop the former site of the Westferry Printworks on the Isle of Dogs as housing
‘And will the Secretary of State now disclose what contact he or his representatives had with the developers about this tax?’
Downing Street later said it was ‘appropriate’ for Housing Minister Mr Pincher to answer a question about a housing matter, and said Mr Jenrick continued to have the confidence of the Prime Minister.
After the council mounted a legal challenge in the High Court, Mr Jenrick accepted that his original decision had been ‘unlawful by reason of apparent bias’, quashed the decision and said he would take no further part in decisions about the application.
In a statement in May, the local authority said the ‘timing of the decision appeared to show bias’ by the Cabinet minister as it was made a day before new infrastructure charges came into force.
Labour has accused Mr Jenrick of making the decision after he dined with Mr Desmond ‘at a glitzy fundraising dinner’.
The former Channel 5 owner has donated to both the Tories and Ukip in the past.
Mr Desmond, who sold the Daily Express and Daily Star newspapers two years ago, wants to redevelop the former site of the Westferry Printworks on the Isle of Dogs as housing.
The proposal includes nine buildings of up to 36 storeys. Only 21 per cent of the development would have been affordable housing, significantly below the 35 per cent typically required.
Labour had requested Mr Jenrick attends the chamber but urgent questions do not compel a specific minister to attend.