Rishi Sunak’s government will commission an independent review into the development of the northern England Teesworks site, following allegations of corruption around a project at the heart of the Conservative Party’s pledge to boost disadvantaged areas of the country.
(Bloomberg) — Rishi Sunak’s government will commission an independent review into the development of the northern England Teesworks site, following allegations of corruption around a project at the heart of the Conservative Party’s pledge to boost disadvantaged areas of the country.
A panel will look into the “serious allegations of corruption, wrongdoing and illegality,” Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove said in a letter to Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen published Wednesday. The claims jeopardize “our shared ambitions to deliver jobs and economic growth in Teesside,” he wrote.
Gove said he was commissioning the review even though he hadn’t seen any evidence that would ordinarily trigger an intervention.
Controversy around the project was triggered by separate investigations by Private Eye and the Financial Times, which raised concerns about transparency and whether private developers gained at the expense of taxpayers. Labour Member of Parliament Andy McDonald used a House of Commons session last month to say there was “industrial-scale corruption” at the site.
The issue is sensitive for the Tories because the government frequently holds up the Teesworks project as proof its “levelling up” agenda — which played a critical part of Boris Johnson’s 2019 general election victory — is working. Houchen, too, is credited with transforming the Tories’ fortunes in the area.
Houchen welcomed the review in a series of tweets Wednesday, saying it is “necessary to show investors, businesses and local people that there is no corruption, wrongdoing or illegality” in the project. He called Teesworks “an incredible project for jobs and investment in our region.”
In his letter to Houchen, Gove said the review will probe the “value achieved for the investment of public money” on the project. “I understand why you want to invite further, independent scrutiny and I welcome your willingness to do so,” he wrote.
Meanwhile the Labour Party said Gove’s decision not to involve the National Audit Office is “bizarre” and said there had been a “complete breakdown of accountability” on his watch.
“The government must not hide from proper scrutiny, and there is no clear justification for not ordering a comprehensive, independent investigation from the NAO,” said Lisa Nandy, Labour’s shadow spokeswoman on levelling up
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