Boris Johnson’s former aide apologises for approving developer’s £187m loan

Tory peer says sorry for failing to prevent ‘perception of a conflict’

Boris Johnson leaves No 10 (PA)

Boris Johnson’s former aide has apologised for approving a £187m government-backed loan to a property developer while he was still on the payroll of the company.

It comes as home secretary Priti Patel faces calls for an investigation into an allegedly “flagrant” breach of the ministerial code, and new questions have been raised about the transparency of government dealings.

It has emerged that Tory peer Eddie Lister backed a loan for building giant Delancey when he was chair of the Homes England agency – while also working as a paid strategic adviser to the developer.

Lord Udny-Lister, who quit No 10 unexpectedly last month, admitted to his Homes England colleagues in May 2019 that he had “previously” carried out advisory work for the developer.

The peer admitted on Sunday it would have been better to “recuse” himself from the loan’s approval. “I apologise for not taking sufficient steps to prevent any perception of a conflict,” he told the Sunday Times.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) said “proper process was followed at all times” on the housing loan, while Delancey said it did not ask the peer to lobby on its behalf.

A MHCLG spokesman for the department said the £187m loan was made through its private rented sector guarantee scheme. The loan was “supported by the government’s guarantee rather than with taxpayer’s money.”

Lord Udny-Lister was brought into No10 as chief strategy adviser in June 2019, before taking up the post of special envoy to the Gulf region. But he left the role last month.

His admission comes as cabinet secretary Simon Case has defended Mr Johnson’s role as the ultimate arbitrator of the ministerial code, after critics argued the current system means the prime minister is able to “mark his own homework”.

No 10’s ministerial standards adviser Lord Geidt is currently probing how renovations on Mr Johnson’s Downing Street flat were paid for, but the PM remains the final adjudicator of whether any breaches occurred.

Mr Case argued that Britain’s unwritten constitution set out that “hiring and firing” powers must rest with the prime minister, even in situations where that might appear “odd”.

Simon Case, UK's most senior civil servant (PA)

On Monday, the head of the civil service told the Lords Constitution Committee: “That is just one of our basic constitutional principles and sometimes people find that odd but that’s just the basics of our constitutional settlement.”

Meanwhile, Ms Patel set to be challenged in the Commons this week over claims she breacher the ministerial code by lobbying for a £20m PPE contract for a firm represented by a Tory donor.

Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner and shadow home secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds have asked the cabinet secretary Simon Case to investigated. Mr Thomas-Symonds is expected to put down an urgent question, requiring Ms Patel to give an account to MPs.

On Sunday health secretary Matt Hancock defended his role in helping a former Tory minister secure a £178m Covid contract.

The minister said it was “perfectly reasonable” for him to send on a proposal from Brooks Newmark to officials and ask them to examine it. “I just pinged it on,” said Mr Hancock.