Westminster Council have confirmed that they will not be conducting an independent review into what happened with their failed Marble Arch Mound project. The Council’s Chief Executive has instead confirmed that the Council will conduct a purely internal review led by senior officers who weren’t directly involved in the initial decisions. Its findings will be discussed by a special scrutiny committee to be held in early October, something that Labour had previously called for.

Westminster Labour Group Leader Cllr Adam Hug said “It is deeply disappointing, but sadly not surprising, that the Council have rejected calls from Labour and local residents to have an independent inquiry or to in anyway involve external experts with fresh eyes and the experience of successfully delivering major projects in its review. This insular approach does nothing to build public trust that everything that went wrong will be brought to light or that lessons will actually be learned from this debacle.

The council needs a complete culture change and that means replacing the current tired and incompetent Conservative administration in May 2022.”