Questions about the government's handling of controversy over a 2002 design contest for the West Kowloon arts hub have multiplied with the discovery that a foreign member of the judging panel had business links to the winner, British architect Norman Foster.
Details of the links between juror Peter Rogers and Foster came to light three weeks after a controversial government statement that chief executive candidate Leung Chun-ying had a possible conflict of interest as a juror on the panel.
Leung faces an investigation by a Legco committee that threatens to become a source of political embarrassment to the government.
The Post has learned that Rogers' firm, a UK property developer, had two deals with Foster at the time.
The Home Affairs Bureau yesterday declined to confirm whether Rogers, co-founder and director of developer Stanhope, and Foster had declared any shared interest before the jury voted in 2002.
The bureau would only say last night that it would 'collaborate with the select committee of Legco. During [that] time, we will not comment on matters related to the competition.'
Foster and Rogers did not respond to questions by press time.