Richard Desmond, the developer who wanted to build 1,500 homes in London, donated £12,000 to the Conservatives after the Housing Secretary gave him planning permission for the project.
Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick (pictured) approved the project against the advice of government planning inspectors on 14 January, just one day before changes to Tower Hamlets’ Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) were introduced.
This meant Desmond’s firm Northern and Shell avoided paying a levy of up to £50m for the project.
The site was also formerly owned by Westferry Printworks, which used to print The Daily Telegraph and the Daily Express, papers once owned by Desmond.
According to the Electoral Commission, Desmond made the donation in cash to the Conservatives on 28 January, weeks after the decision was approved. The businessman also donated £10,000 to the party in 2017.
When asked by the council to see all documents relating to the approval, Jenrick’s legal team instead denied the Housing Secretary showed any bias towards Desmond but accepted the decision was unlawful.
The approval has since been overturned.
Shekina is the deputy editor at Mortgage Solutions and commercial editor at Mortgage Solutions and Specialist Lending Solutions. She has nearly eight years of experience in the B2B publishing market, having previously covered the hospitality, retail, pet, accounting and jewellery sectors.
Shekina has worked for Mortgage Solutions and Specialist Lending Solutions for almost five years. Here, she covers the market’s breaking news stories, engages with professionals in the sector, and oversees any commercially agreed content in partnership with mortgage-related companies.
This includes presenting webinars and hosting roundtable discussions on developing themes in the mortgage sector.
She is an NCTJ-trained journalist and was nominated for the Headline Money Awards Mortgage Journalist of the Year in 2021.
In her spare time, Shekina likes to read, travel, listen to music and socialise with friends.
She currently reports on current events in the mortgage market and liaises with financial clients to produce sponsored content.
Follow her on Twitter at @ShekinaMS
