Call for inquiry into why senior Tory helped donor avoid £40m tax

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Cabinet Office asked to look into Robert Jenrick’s unlawful approval of property project

Labour has urged the Cabinet Office to investigate why the housing secretary intervened in a controversial London planning decision that could have saved a Conservative party donor tens of millions of pounds.

 Robert Jenrick, the housing, communities and local government secretary, knew that the former media tycoon Richard Desmond had only 24 hours to have an East End property development approved before hefty community charges were imposed on the billionaire’s project. The imposition of Tower Hamlets council’s community infrastructure levy (CIL) would have cost Desmond at least £40m.

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from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3gAodJR

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