Sign up Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy noticeOne of Boris Johnson's top former aides has apologised for approving a £187million taxpayer-backed loan to a big property developer he was being paid to advise. Eddie Lister supported the payment by affordable housing quango Homes England to Delancey, a firm which has built luxury flats in the Olympic Park in East London. But he did not tell them that while chairing Homes England he was still being paid by the company - which then received the biggest loan paid out by the government agency. Lord Udny-Lister apologised for not recusing himself from the decision-making meeting but claimed he had never lobbied for Delancey. A Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesman said: "We introduced the £3.5 billion Private Rented Sector Guarantee Scheme and made changes to the National Planning Policy Framework to support additional new build private rented homes.

Source: Daily Mirror May 16, 2021 14:02 UTC