Key information
Request reference number: MGLA230620-5668
Date of response:
Summary of request
This FOI requests relates to the Westferry Printworks planning application that is being widely discussed in the media/Parliament
Q1 I wish to confirm whether and when the Mayor, Deputy Mayors, Assembly Members and other GLA staff met Richard Desmond in 2017 to 2019 on any subject or anybody else employed by Richard Desmond specifically as regards the Westferry Printworks planning application site during the same period (outside of the public examination)? It follows a story in the Sunday Times on the 21st June 2020 which is below
This is my summary of Sunday Times article
Then according to the Sunday Times interview with him, Richard Desmond described meeting Mayor Sadiq Khan at the 21st April 2018 Queen's Birthday Party, he said “Khan rushed up to me . . . ‘You haven’t got enough buildings on your site. Would you like to have more buildings?’ And that’s where it all started.”
The Sunday Times then says Richard Desmond told them that at midday on October 22, 2018: “Sadiq’s people [Rajesh Agrawal, deputy mayor for business, and James Murray, then deputy mayor for housing] came into my office and started waffling. I said: ‘Are you backing me on this f***ing development!?’ His planning man, James Murray, said ‘yes’. I said, will you confirm to me you’re backing this?’ Yes, yes, it was all fine. Then they U-turned.”
Q2 Did these meetings occur as described?
Q3 Did the Mayor attend the 21st April 2018 Queen's Birthday Party
Q3 Did the Mayor attend the 21st April 2018 Queen's Birthday Party
The statement of Community Involvement published by the developer also says this
Meetings were also held with members of the Greater London Assembly (GLA) on 2nd November 2017 and 26th April 2018.
Q4 Which Assembly Members?
Related documents
MGLA230620-5668 - FOI response