Mike Amesbury responds to Robert Jenrick’s appearance before the Housing Communities and Local Government Select Committee

Responding to Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick’s appearance before the Housing, Communities and Local Government Select Committee, at which he was questioned about his role in the Westferry ‘cash for favours’ scandal, Mike Amesbury MP, Shadow Housing and Planning Minister, said:

“Robert Jenrick still has serious questions to answer about the decision he made to approve unlawfully a planning application which saw Tory donor Richard Desmond trouser up to £50 million.”

“Jenrick has now admitted that he acted to prevent Mr Desmond having to pay tens of millions of pounds in tax to one of the poorest boroughs in the country - a decision he called ‘natural justice’ - but we still don’t know the full facts about his conduct in this case.

“The stench of this grubby affair won’t go away until Mr Jenrick comes clean: he needs to give a statement to the House answering all the Committee’s questions in full if the public is to have any faith in the integrity of the planning system.

Ends

Notes to Editors

1. The Chair of the Select Committee wrote to the Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick on 1 July with 26 questions about his conduct in the Westferry affair.

Source: https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/1702/documents/16631/default/