Mayor invites inquiry into Teesworks claims
Houchen urges Gove to investigate allegations of sweetheart deals on regeneration project
THE Mayor of Tees Valley has turned to Michael Gove to help clear his name after claims of cronyism and corruption at Britain’s biggest industrial regeneration project.
Ben Houchen has called on the Levelling Up Secretary to open a full parliamentary inquiry that he hopes will clear him of allegations he handed out sweetheart deals on the Teesworks project. Pressure has been mounting on Mr Houchen, once considered the most influential Conservative outside of Westminster, following claims of cronyism in developing a 4,500-acre site previously occupied by one of Britain’s biggest steelworks. Lisa Nandy, the shadow levelling up secretary, has said Mr Houchen has “very serious questions” to answer over public spending on the Teesworks project.
She wrote a letter to the National Audit Office (NAO) yesterday demanding an inquiry, which would require the Levelling Up Secretary to ask the relevant government body to open a detailed review. Mr Houchen told Mr Gove that the project, which also encompasses the country’s biggest freeport, “is increasingly becoming a political football”.
He backed calls for an independent investigation. In his letter, Mr Houchen said: “I would like to wholeheartedly add my support for such a review. It is unfair that the officers of these transformational organisations should have their work undermined by these continued unfounded, incorrect and salacious attacks.”
The NAO conducted an informal review of the Teesworks project last year. It found no evidence of wrongdoing, though its remit only allowed officials to review whether central government grants were being used correctly. The row follows a series of articles published by Private Eye that allege local property developers Chris Musgrave and Martin Corney have financially benefited from the site. In a statement from Teesworks given to the BBC in April, Mr Musgrave and Mr Corney said they had “nothing to hide” and accused Mr Mcdonald of “an abuse of power”.
It was claimed that Mr Houchen had allowed Mr Musgrave and Mr Corney to pay just £100 for land that was worth £100m. Questions have also been raised over how a large equity stake in the business has been transferred to the two men.
Middlesbrough MP and former Labour frontbencher Andy Mcdonald used parliamentary privilege to accuse Mr Houchen of “industrial-scale corruption”. Mr Houchen responded by calling Mr Mcdonald a “coward” for not making his claims outside of Parliament, where he would not be protected from legal defamation claims. The Mayor’s letter to Mr Gove continued: “While we continue to do everything that is appropriate and expected of a public body, in line with our reporting, scrutiny and transparency obligations, as we have since the start of this project, such grossly unfounded and inaccurate statements are now clearly impacting investor confidence at this site.
“So we would also ask that such a review is done quickly so as to avoid investment and jobs being lost to the Teesside and the UK.”
The NAO said it was “likely to make further inquiries following our usual processes” as further government grants are expected to be made available to the Teesworks project.