Call for Jenrick to quit in controversy over planning approval for Tory donor

Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick faced calls to resign after documents revealed he was “insistent” a controversial development was agreed before a new levy would cost its Tory donor backer millions.

Boris Johnson backed the beleaguered minister with the head of the civil service saying the Prime Minister “considered the matter closed”.

But a stash of documents and texts released after pressure from the opposition showed multi-millionaire Tory donor Richard Desmond urged Mr Jenrick to approve the east London development scheme so that “Marxists” did not get “doe for nothing”.