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Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond has been accused of having a conflict of interest over a controversial Denbighshire housing scheme being built by a company he has stakes in.

Mr Hammond belongs to a trust which has a "controlling interest" in Castlemead Ltd, the firm behind plans for 95 houses in Llangollen which have provoked fierce opposition in the local are.

Today, Plaid Cymru said the government's commitment to affordable housing jarred with the fact that only around 10% of the Llangollen homes would be set aside as low cost homes

Today, Mr Hammond’s Treasury department said the Chancellor - who has made dividends of up to £1.8m from his financial interests in the company in the past - had no day to day involvement in Castlemead.

Plaid Cymru's Mabon ap Gwynfor told the Daily Post: “People in government should have no financial or any other vested interest in companies who are set to profit from decisions made by the Government or associated bodies. It seems perverse and doesn’t look good.”

He added: “The Planning Inspectorate has limited the amount of affordable housing in Denbighshire’s development plan to no more than 10%, which doesn’t answer local demand and will mean larger houses and more profits for the developer.

“The Planning Inspectorate is answerable to the Welsh Government, but crucially it’s also an agent of the UK Government’s Department for Communities and Local Government. Phillip Hammond, who is right at the very top of the UK Government, has an interest in Castlemead and is therefore set to profit from the development.”

Mr Hammond became a director of Castlemead in 1984 and focused on housing development, before later specialising in building medical facilities such as doctors’ surgeries.