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Call For Police To Investigate Housing Secretary Over £30m Planning Favour For Tory Donor Richard Desmond

Britain's Secretary of State for Housing Robert Jenrick 
Britain's Secretary of State for Housing Robert Jenrick

Housing secretary Robert Jenrick has admitted “unlawfully” signing off a 1,500-home development by Conservative Party donor Richard Desmond – in a move that would have saved the billionaire publishing tycoon some £40m.

Labour peer Lord Andrew Adonis has called for the Metropolitan Police to look into the matter, and the Conservative Party leader in Tower Hamlets has resigned from the party altogether because it looks “very suspicious”.

The £1bn project on the former Westferry Printworks on London’s Isle of Dogs was approved in January by Jenrick – despite the council and then the independent Planning Inspectorate both deciding it should be refused over a lack of affordable housing and because it conflicted with local planning policy.

His decision came a day before Tower Hamlets Council approved a new rate for its Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL), which would have increased Desmond’s financial liability to the council by between £30m and £50m.

In March, the council began legal action, alleging that the timing of the decision appeared to show bias. It asked the High Court to order the government to disclose documents that, it argued, would show Jenrick was influenced by a desire to help Desmond save money by avoiding the charges.

Faced with the prospect of having to publicly release documents relating to the decision, Jenrick accepted his decision letter was “unlawful by reason of apparent bias” and confirmed it was deliberately issued before the new CIL policy could be adopted. He agreed planning permission should be quashed and decided by a different minister.

A High Court order states: “In pre-action correspondence, pursuant to the duty of candour, the first defendant [Jenrick] explained that the DL [decision letter] was issued on 14 January 2020 so that it would be issued before the claimant [Tower Hamlets] adopted its new local plan and CIL charging schedule.”

It adds: “He [Jenrick] accepts that the timing of the DL, on the eve of...

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