The Westminster City councillor Robert Davis received gifts or hospitality from property firms involved in half of the planning applications his committee ruled on in 2016, an investigation reveals. In one case Davis met Robert De Niro, in New York, and was entertained by the actor’s development partner and the firm’s planning consultant. Davis’s committee later granted De Niro’s company approval for a 83-room boutique hotel in Covent Garden, London. She said the consent was granted unanimously by a cross-party planning committee and following “due process”. The Guardian asked for comment on its finding that he held meetings prior to planning committee hearings with 74 applicants out of 120 in 2016 and granted consent in all but five of these cases.

Source: The Guardian March 08, 2018 19:15 UTC