Sir Bob Neill wrote a letter to his local council in December 2018, urging them to approve the redevelopment of The Royal Bell - a neglected hotel in his Bromley Constituency. But he failed to mention in his letter that he was on the payroll of the Substantia Group - the firm handling the planning application for the hotel. Sir Bob has been paid £50,000 by the firm for “strategic consultancy advice” since 2016, according to the register of members' interests. Shadow Housing Minister Mike Amesbury said: “It beggars belief that a former planning minister would not be aware of the obvious conflict of interest in this case." And the Telegraph today reported Sir Bob had intervened in another planning application being handled by the same firm - again without mentioning his paid position.

Source: Daily Mirror June 22, 2020 18:25 UTC