On Sunday’s LBC, Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick found himself in a heated on-air exchange with presenter Lewis Goodall, after Goodall reminded him of a 2020 decision Jenrick admitted was “unlawful.” The clash came only days after Jenrick posted a video confronting fare‐dodgers on the London Underground—prompting Goodall to ask if bystander shaming was acceptable when Jenrick himself had broken rules.
🗣️ “Unlawfully approving a billionaire’s project?”
Goodall didn’t hold back. He said:
“Has anyone ever accosted you in the street for unlawfully approving a Conservative-supporting billionaire housing project which could have cost the taxpayer £45 million? Rule‐breaking is a problem wherever it happens, isn’t it?”
Jenrick fired back:
“You’re talking about something that happened five years ago which I was cleared of then. What matters now is tackling crime.”
🏗️ The Desmond development row
In 2020, as Housing Secretary, Jenrick overruled both Tower Hamlets Council and the Planning Inspectorate to green‐light a £1 billion Westferry Printworks development. That approval came one day before Tower Hamlets raised its Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL), a decision Jenkins’s move would have cost developer Richard Desmond an extra £30–50 million. Jenrick acknowledged at the time that his intervention was “unlawful,” but a subsequent investigation cleared him of personal wrongdoing.
🔥 “Rule‐breaking at the top” vs “crime today”
Goodall pressed:
“You don’t think rule‐breaking is a problem for those at the top—but only for those at the bottom?”
Jenrick retorted:
“No, you said that. I never said that.”
Undeterred, Goodall shot back:
“By your logic, because it happened years ago it doesn’t matter.”
Jenrick insisted:
“I want to ensure we tackle crime now. You seem more interested in deflecting.”
⚖️ Lockdown loopholes and public trust
Goodall pointed out the broader issue:
“Do you not see a connection between elite rule‐breaking—think Boris Johnson’s lockdown breaches—and your own unlawful decision? Doesn’t that erode public trust, encouraging ordinary people to flout rules too?”
Jenrick replied:
“I don’t condone anything unlawful. But the public cares more about crime happening right now.”
You can watch it below:
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