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Campaigners warn of ‘obvious conflict of interest’ after Gove receives £120,000 from property developers
Housing Minister Michael Gove

Parliamentary reporter @TrinderMatt

LABOUR warned that the announcement of a “pause” to planning reforms was not enough today, as newly minted Housing Minister Michael Gove found himself embroiled in a conflict-of-interest controversy.

In his first policy decision since being handed the role, Mr Gove, who was revealed yesterday to have received £120,000 from property developers before taking office, said he wanted to address Tory MPs’ concerns about the reforms, which have been labelled a “developer’s charter” by critics.

Labour expressed cynicism about the temporary stay, however, with shadow communities and local government secretary Steve Reed MP stating that former secretary Robert Jenrick’s development policies “need to be scrapped.

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