Tory MP Anne Main has written to Cabinet Secretary Sir Jeremy Heywood requesting an investigation into whether Theresa Villiers broke the ministerial code when she was Minister of State for Transport. The alleged breach centres on a conflict of interest surrounding a rail freight terminal planning application that is currently before Eric Pickles at DCLG. It is claimed Villiers had a private lunch with a lobbyist named Simon Hoare who she was friends with at university, that the meeting was not disclosed, that there was an attempted cover-up and that the lobbying had an impact on policy. Main alleges “Villiers may have put her personal relationship with Mr Hoare ahead of her ministerial duty”. The letter is in full below:

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