Jenrick knew of £40m tax saving
ROBERT JENRICK has admitted he knew that rubber-stamping a Tory donor’s property development scheme 24 hours before a tax change came into force would have saved them tens of millions of pounds.
The Housing Secretary yesterday insisted he acted within the rules as he faced fresh questions from MPS over his decision to approve a £1billion application by Richmond Desmond. The decision, which overruled objections from
planning officials and a local authority, came a day before Mr Desmond’s firm would have been liable to pay a new tax costing up to £40 million.
Mr Desmond, the billionaire former owner of the Daily Express newspaper, donated £12,000 to the Conservative Party two weeks after the application was signed off in January.
The revelations have prompted accusations of a “cash for favours” scandal, with Labour demanding a Cabinet Office investigation to determine whether Mr Jenrick breached the ministerial code. Appearing in the Commons, Mr
Jenrick said he was “confident that all the rules were followed” and that he had taken “that decision in good faith and with an open mind”.
However, when asked whether he had been aware that the levy was due to come into force 24 hours after he had signed the planning consent, Mr Jenrick said: “That was a matter of public record... so all parties would have been aware of that.”
The row follows weeks after it first emerged that Mr Jenrick had approved the application to build 1,500 luxury flats in London after sitting next to Mr Desmond at a Conservative Party fundraising dinner, during which the subject was raised. Mr Jenrick later withdrew his approval for the Westferry project after he was subject to a legal challenge by the council.