The National Audit Office must take a thorough look at Teesside Freeport zone - The Yorkshire Post says

No reasonable person is against economic development or the creation of much needed jobs in the North East. Indeed The Yorkshire Post has always championed entrepreneurialism. Done right, it can transform the lives of local communities.

However, that cannot come at the cost of proper governance, nor can it come at the expense of the environment.

When questions are asked, politicians should seek to provide clear answers rather than launching ad hominem attacks on those that are pursuing the truth.

The National Audit Office (NAO) must prove its worth by taking a thorough look at the accounts of the development, as Lisa Nandy, Shadow Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, has urged it to. A limited review of the business case, as was carried out last year, is simply not enough.

While it is welcoming to hear the public spending watchdog say that it will “make further enquiries", a root and branch inquiry into all of the contracts and tendering processes needs to be conducted.

Especially as Alex Cunningham, Labour MP for Stockton North, pointed out in Parliament, that the NAO demanded that the Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen correct his claims that it had given dealings around the freeport a clean bill of health.

This isn’t a simple party political issue. Concerns are being raised by people regardless of their political persuasion. That’s because the majority of people believe in transparency and good governance. Even more so as hundreds of millions of pounds of public money is being spent on clearing and decontaminating the site.