The Government has blocked the release of documents which would show the decision-making behind an investigation into the controversial redevelopment of Teesside.
Tory MPs voted down the Labour demand in the House of Commons after levelling up secretary Michael Gove announced the members of a three-person panel to inspect the Teesworks project on the former Redcar steelworks site.
They were named as Angie Ridgwell, chief executive of Lancashire County Council, Quentin Baker, director of law and governance at Hertfordshire County Council and Richard Paver, who was the first treasurer of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority.
The Government rejected a call by Labour MPs for a statutory inquiry into the project.
Middlesbrough MP Andy McDonald previously raised concerns about the Teesworks scheme, alleging 'truly shocking, industrial-scale corruption.
But instead of commissioning the National Audit Office (NAO) to look at Teesworks, Mr Gove brought together an 'independent assurance review'.
Controversy over the way the project has been run has included how a substantial chunk of the ownership of a company developing the site was transferred from the publicly run Tees Valley Combined Authority into private hands.
Ben Houchen, Conservative mayor of the Tees Valley, has been among those calling for a full inquiry and says he has nothing to hide.
He has come under scrutiny as leader of the TVCA and also chair of the company developing the site, the South Tees Development Company, which is now 90% privately held instead of being split 50-50 with the public.
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