Housing Minister David Lee has distanced himself from an exclusive Sunday Express report yesterday which stated that “compensation” was offered to investigative journalist Mark Bassant to kill a story related to the $3.4 billion in contracts awarded by the Housing Development Corporation (HDC).

The article stated that a man claiming to represent an HDC official under scrutiny for alleged collusion involving contracts awarded to two contractors under the now-suspended $3.4 billion housing programme met with the Sunday Express last Thursday on Ariapita Avenue, Woodbrook, and offered “compensation” in exchange for the story being dropped.

During the meeting, the well-known individual in political circles suggested that if the story was “killed”, Bassant would receive compensation, as well as documents and information relating to alleged mismanagement within the HDC under the former PNM administration.