Richard Desmond is the billionaire at the heart of Westminster's latest scandal.

Richard Desmond did not respond to a request for comment.

The decision on his development though is now out of Mr. Generic's hands.

But it's not the first time he's made headlines.

There was this allegation back in 2004, for example.

He launched an extraordinary tirade accusing the Chief Executive of the Telegraph of

being a miserable little piece of shit,

saying that all Germans were Nazis,

and I think he marched around the room, Goose stepping.

The former pawn publisher and media mogul started as an outsider.

So how did he end up at the centre of a British political scandal?

You're listening to stories of our times from The Times and the Sunday Times.

I'm Manveen Rana.

Today, Richard Desmond, the man, the mogul, the scandal. This is a passenger announcement. You can now book your train on Uber and get 10% back in credits to spend on Uber eats so you can order your own fries instead of eating

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I don't know how many other people can say this.

I am among the few who can say they've read Richard Desmond's biography.

Gabriel Pogrand is politics and investigations reporter at the Sunday Times, and lately he's

been diving into the world of British billionaire Richard Desmond, partly by plowing

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