Huhne insists that Thornber answers his questions on housebuilder

3.39.39pm UTC (GMT +0000) Tue 29th Jul 2008

Eastleigh MP Chris Huhne has insisted that county council leader Ken Thornber answer his questions about the owners of the Hamble gravel pit.

The controversy follows the decision by the Conservative-controlled county council to sanction development of a gravel pit on the Hamble airfield.

The airfield is owned by Persimmon, a large housebuilding company responsible along with its major shareholder for large donations to the Conservative party totalling £42,000.

Mr Huhne said that he was not suggesting that Cllr Thornber or his group had acted improperly, but merely asked whether Cllr Thornber had consulted his legal services over how to proceed when there is a clear potential conflict of interest.

Mr Huhne, in a new letter in response to a letter published by Cllr Thornber, asks Cllr Thornber to confirm that Persimmon submitted a document in support of the Hamble gravel pit proposals.

"Persimmon know very well that if the airfield is used for gravel extraction, it will become a brownfield site which will then be much easier to zone for housing" said Mr Huhne.

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The text of the letter is:

Dear Cllr Ken Thornber

Thank you for your letter of 22nd July, which we received on the 25th. You seem to have misunderstood what I said and what is in the press release.

First, the facts. There is no question of my "alleging" that Persimmon and its major shareholder have donated £42,000 to the Conservative party. It is a matter of public record with the Electoral Commission, and it is discreditable of you to attempt to pretend that this is a mere allegation from a political rival. If you wish to confirm this for yourself, I suggest that you write to the Electoral Commission or consult its website where the facts are on display.

Secondly, I asked you to check with the legal services of the county council that the potential conflict of interest which is clear and incontrovertible from the public record has been guarded against in the way in which you took the decision both as a cabinet and as a full county council under Conservative party control.

You have not replied to my point. Did you seek legal advice on this matter or not?

You also say in your letter that "at no time has any member of Cabinet had any contact with Persimmon". Do you deny that they submitted a document supporting the use of Hamble airfield as a gravel pit? Can you assure me that there has been no meeting arranged between Persimmson and your officials?

If anyone deserves an apology, it is me since you have ludicrously over-reacted to a perfectly reasonable request that probity should be maintained and seen to be maintained by consulting the legal services on the potential conflict of interest. I look forward to your response to my queries, and I would be grateful if you would please treat them as a formal request under the Freedom of Information Act, and I too am releasing this to the press.

With best wishes,

Yours sincerely,

Chris Huhne MP