The former head of the civil service, Bob Kerslake, has said the decision by housing secretary Robert Jenrick to approve a £1bn east London housing development of a Tory donor raised “troubling issues” and should be subject to further investigation.

Kerslake’s intervention on the Today programme this morning will add pressure on Jenrick who has faced calls to resign following the release yesterday of a cache of documents related to the decision on the PLP-designed 1,500-home Westferry Printworks scheme.

Jenrick yesterday defended his actions in Parliament, repeating his assertion that he had displayed no bias, despite the fact the documents released appear to confirm that Jenrick rushed the decision through in order to allow the developer behind the scheme, billionaire media mogul Richard Desmond, to avoid a £50m planning levy due to come in to force.

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