The government has blocked the release of documents relating to the Teesworks regeneration.
Labour had called for the publication of all correspondence that would show why levelling up secretary Michael Gove opted to appoint a three-person panel to look at the 4,500-acre North East scheme, instead of choosing the National Audit Office.
But yesterday Conservative MPs voted down a measure tabled by Labour in the House of Commons, by 272 to 166. Not a single Conservative voted to disclose the documents.
During the debate, former levelling up secretary Simon Clarke said Labour was engaged in a “cynical, shameless and seedy attempt to talk down Teesside”.
The investigation was announced after concerns were raised about governance at the UK’s largest freeport. Labour Middlesbrough MP Andy McDonald has claimed there is “industrial-scale corruption”, centred around the decision by Tees Valley mayor Ben Houchen to pass control of land over to two local developers.
However, Gove said in a series of letters that he had seen “no evidence of corruption, wrongdoing, or illegality”.
Yesterday the government named the panel that will investigate Teesworks: Angie Ridgwell, chief executive of Lancashire County Council; Quentin Baker, director of law and governance at Hertfordshire County Council; and Richard Paver, first treasurer of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority.
Shadow levelling up secretary Lisa Nandy said Gove had set up “an investigation on his own terms, hand-picking a panel to investigate an issue where accountability has totally broken down”.
She added: “Having rejected cross-party calls, including from the Conservative mayor, for a National Audit Office investigation, ministers need to clarify that the review they have set up will have all the same powers as the NAO would have had to review the accounts and assess the decisions that have been made in relation to Teesworks.”
The Teesside scheme has so far received £200m from the taxpayer and is one of the government’s flagship levelling up projects.
Between 2020 and 2021, 90% of the shares in the scheme were transferred to two local developers.
To send feedback, e-mail piers.wehner@eg.co.uk or tweet @PiersWehner or @EGPropertyNews
