Housing secretary Robert Jenrick is under continued pressure regarding his decision to approve a £1bn east London housing scheme, after a Sunday newspaper reported that he overruled officials’ objections without revealing that he had had contact with the developer, a high-profile Tory party donor.

Home secretary Priti Patel defended Jenrick yesterday, describing the matter as “closed”, despite the Sunday Times reporting that officials “begged” Jenrick not to approve PLP’s 1,500-home Westferry Printworks scheme, despite not knowing that he had had dinner with the developer, billionaire media mogul Richard Desmond.

Documents released by the government last week revealed that Jenrick exchanged numerous text messages with Desmond last year when the appeal was live after meeting him at a Tory fundraising dinner, at which Desmond lobbied him over the scheme.

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