Housing Secretary has 'conflict of interest' over plans for Holocaust memorial, High Court told

The Housing Secretary has been accused of having a “stark conflict of interest” over plans for a Holocaust memorial outside the Houses of Parliament, the High Court has heard.

The Government is facing a legal challenge brought by the London Historic Parks and Gardens Trust over the proposed Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre, in Victoria Tower Gardens.

Making up a small, triangular, Grade II-listed park next to Westminster Abbey and the Houses of Parliament, the site of the Gardens has sparked a row between the Government, and critics who claim that the memorial - encompassing 23 large bronze fin structures and an underground learning centre dedicated to the six million Jews murdered by the Nazis as well as millions of other victims - would have a “significant harmful impact” on the area.

Now the handling of the planning application has been called into question following accusations of impropriety.

At a remote High Court hearing on Wednesday, lawyers for the Trust argued that there was a conflict of interest in the way the Government had approached the handling of the planning application.

They claimed that the Government had failed to properly impose rules required by EU environmental regulations ensuring decision on the proposal would be made independently.

In written submissions, John Howell QC, for the Trust, argued there had been "many statements" about the Government's, Boris Johnson's and Robert Jenrick, the Housing Secretary's "commitment to the development proposed in Victoria Tower Gardens being carried out".

He cited comments from Mr Jenrick, including a statement in which the minister said the Government was "implacably committed" to the construction of the centre.

Mr Howell said: "These statements, which go far beyond any mere predisposition in favour of the development proposed, show unequivocally that the defendant and the Prime Minister as well as the Government remains implacably committed to the project in Victoria Tower Gardens, regardless of any objections to the planning application that any naysayers may have.

"These statements make manifest the stark conflict of interest that the defendant has placed himself in by calling his own application in for his own determination and by subsequently declining to take any steps (as he was invited to do) to entrust the decision on the application to an independent inspector (as an appeal against any decision by the city council would have been)."

The High Court case comes months after Mr Jenrick faced pressure to resign over accusations of another conflict of interest allegation. He admitted helping Richard Desmond, a businessman and Tory donor, avoid a £45million tax bill by rushing through plans for his luxury housing development.

However, speaking at a parliamentary committee in July, Mr Jenrick told MPs that he was acting in accordance with “natural justice” by getting the scheme through before the charges would have applied.

He later quashed his own decision.

The Government is opposing the legal challenge over the memorial, which is being heard by Mr Justice Holgate over two days.

In written submissions, Tim Mould QC, for the Government, said that rules in England meant there were arrangements in place to ensure "appropriate separation" between "conflicting functions", allowing the Housing Secretary to perform his duties in making decisions over the planning application "in an objective manner and avoiding a conflict of interest".

Mr Mould added: "The defendant has published handling arrangements which set out how the called-in decision on the planning application for the Holocaust Memorial will be handled, so that there is a clear process for decision-making which ensures that the decision will be taken in an objective manner and avoids any conflicts of interest."

In November last year, the Government, which made the application for planning permission for the centre, "called in" the decision on the proposal, meaning it would decide whether the project should go ahead, rather than it being determined by the local authority - Westminster City Council.

The final decision is expected to be taken by Christopher Pincher, housing minister at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, following a public inquiry due next month.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said: “The Secretary of State, as the applicant, has no role in the planning decision for this project and had no role in the decision to call-in this application.

“Robust arrangements are in place within the department to keep the decision-taking planning minister entirely isolated from the project team, as is long established practice with such cases."

Plans for the project were announced in 2016 by then prime minister David Cameron, with the works being led by the UK Holocaust Memorial Foundation.

Leading religious figures including the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Chief Rabbi have waded into the debate, offering their support for the memorial to be built next to the Houses of Parliament.