Media mogul Richard Desmond paid £12,000 for a seat at a Tory Party fundraising dinner at which he raised the topic of his £1bn Westferry Printworks with the minister deciding the appeal, the housing minister confirmed yesterday.

Minister of state Christopher Pincher made the admission answering an urgent House of Commons question brought by Labour over the housing secretary’s unlawful approval of the scheme in January.

However, Pincher insisted housing secretary Robert Jenrick has “no relationship” with Richard Desmond, owner of developer Westferry Developments, and had no discussions with him about avoiding a levy charge of up to £50m before approving his Westferry Printworks application.

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