A fresh row erupted today (Wednesday, May 31) as Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen was again challenged over secrecy surrounding the transfer of public assets.

Mr Houchen was quizzed on a deal struck with Hartlepool council. Previously unknown to the public, it would see several civic buildings transferred into the control of the Hartlepool Mayoral Development Corporation (MDC), of which he is chair.

But the mayor defended the move – saying that the MDC is a public body which has the same oversights and procedures as any local council throughout the country, and operates with the aim of “bringing jobs and investment to a town that sorely needs it” by “regenerating redundant public assets”.

The assets set for transfer include the town hall, magistrates court, and leisure centre – but this list was not made public by the council until after the property deals were revealed in the national press.

Here are the nine questions The Northern Echo wants the Teesworks inquiry to answer. 

This follows a months-long political row over development on Teesside that has grown ferocious and bitter in recent weeks.  

Another Teesside body – the South Tees Development Corporation (STDC), which Mr Houchen also chairs – has recently come under fire for secrecy in deals where public assets have been transferred to developers.

Reportedly, the STDC paid only £96.79 (plus VAT) for the freeholds for the future site of a wind turbine monopile factory from the public sector at the Teesworks site, which aims to redevelop Redcar’s former steelworks. Mr Houchen argues that the £96 paid for the turbine site also triggered a payment of £15m back to the public purse.

In April, Middlesbrough MP Andy McDonald used parliamentary privilege to accuse Ben Houchen and the STDC of “industrial scale corruption” regarding the ownership and funding of the Teesworks site.

The Northern Echo: Labour\'s Middlesbrough MP Andy McDonald

Read more: Cross-party calls for a review into Teesworks finances

Last week, Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove ordered an independent investigation into Teesworks, partly in response to a request from Mr Houchen.

In response to comments made in Parliament, the Tees Valley Mayor today called Mr McDonald a “liar and coward” on the BBC’s Radio 4 World at One program.

Mr Houchen added: “He would never repeat those accusations outside of Parliament because he is a liar,” and challenged the MP to repeat his allegations without the protection of parliamentary privilege.

Mr McDonald declined to repeat his corruption allegation when he followed Mr Houchen onto the radio show.

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Instead, he said: “Well, this doesn’t pass the smell test, any of it. There are so many elements to this that warrant very close scrutiny and investigation.”

Interrupted and asked if he would repeat the comments outside of Parliament, Mr McDonald replied: “Well, I’m quite happy to sit down with Ben and go through my concerns with him.”

Jonathan Brash, a Labour Councillor at Hartlepool Council, also weighed in on the row, calling Mr Houchen and his conservative compatriots “pathologically opposed to accountability”.

However, Mr Houchen said this criticism was “bizarre” as Mr Brash has “twice approved the deal himself” in his role on Hartlepool Council.

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Speaking to The Northern Echo, Mr Brash, also Labour's Parliamentary candidate for Hartlepool, responded: “Labour in Hartlepool supported the principle of the investment because we could always look to work constructively on such things.

“However, as Mr Houchen well knows we specifically said that the list of assets should be made public before transfer so that the public could have their say. They belong to the public.

“We moved a motion to that effect and the Conservatives voted against it. They voted to keep it secret. They voted to avoid scrutiny.”