Boris Johnson's judgement in question over support for under-fire cabinet minister, says Keir Starmer

Boris Johnson’s judgement is now in question after he stood by a cabinet minister embroiled in a “cash for favours” row, the Labour leader has said.

Robert Jenrick, the housing secretary, is fighting for his job after explosive documents revealed he rushed through a decision on a contentious £1bn housing development involving a Tory donor.

Officials in Mr Jenrick’s department said he was “insistent” that the Westferry Printworks project in east London be approved before a new levy added millions to the cost for developer Richard Desmond’s company.

The pair exchanged texts after meeting at a Conservative Party fundraiser in November, where Mr Desmond, a former media mogul, lobbied the housing secretary over the project.

Downing Street said the prime minister still had “full confidence” in Mr Jenrick, but confirmed Mr Johnson had spoken to the embattled minister in recent days.

Sir Keir Starmer said the row had cast doubt over the prime minister’s judgement and called for an investigation by the cabinet secretary Sir Mark Sedwill into the row.

He told the BBC: “I think it has now got to the stage where the prime minister’s judgment is in issue. He says the matter is closed but it is far from closed.

“The latest disclosures show discrepancies. They show that Jenrick initiated conversations. So we need to see the full disclosure. We want straight answers on this.

“I think the public do. They can tell that something’s wrong here. Straight answers, full disclosure, and an investigation by the cabinet secretary.

Asked if Mr Jenrick should remain in post, Sir Keir said: “Well, let’s have the full disclosure. Let’s have those full answers.

“Let the cabinet secretary look at it. But the idea that the public don’t know there’s something wrong here I think is false.”

Labour has written to the housing secretary asking for answers on the row, which saw Mr Jenrick overrule the local authority and the planning inspector to approve the scheme for 1,500 homes in January.

However he later had to reverse the decision after admitting it was “unlawful” due to “apparent bias”.

Labour claims the move to rubberstamp the project before Tower Hamlets Council’s community infrastructure levy (CIL) came into force would have saved Mr Desmond’s Northern and Shell company up to £50 million.

Steve Reed, the shadow housing secretary, asked why Mr Jenrick did not appear to have notified officials at the earliest stage about the fact he sat next to Mr Desmond at the dinner and pressed the minister to clear up discrepancies over whether he watched a promotional video on the developer’s phone.

He also asked about the timescale of the decision and what apparent bias caused him to eventually quash his own decision.

The prime minister’s official spokesman stressed that Mr Johnson believed the case was closed.

“The PM has spoken with the communities secretary,” the spokesman said.

“The communities secretary gave his account in public and to parliament and published the relevant documentation.

“In light of the account that was given, the PM considers the matter closed.”

Business minister Nadhim Zahawi also defended his Tory colleague, saying the fresh documents proved there was no overt influence exerted by Mr Desmond.

Challenged on why Tory voters in Doncaster or Ashfield did not have similar kinds of access to government as the billionaire, Mr Zahawi replied: “If people go to a fundraiser in their local area in Doncaster for the Conservative Party they’d be sitting next to MPs and other people in their local authority, and can interact with different parts of the authority.”

Source: UK Politics - www.independent.co.uk