A former Labour party MP, who now chairs Drenthe’s provincial council, has admitted putting forward his sister in law to redevelop a listed building in Assen, despite earlier denying the claim.

Jacques Tichelaar, the king’s commissioner in Drenthe, has admitted favouring his relative in a letter to the provincial authority, the Volkskrant said on Tuesday. The paper has a copy of the letter.

Tichelaar told local television station RTV Drenthe last week that a civil servant had approached his sister in law, who runs design studio Klinkenberg-SO, about the project.

In the letter to the province, Tichelaar says that there were delays in redeveloping the listed building and that he approached two companies. His sister in law eventually earned €3,100 from the job, which was carried out in 2015.

The issue will be debated by the provincial council on Wednesday.

The Volkskrant says Tichelaar was embroiled in another incident involving a family member in 2013 and had pledged then never to act on behalf of a relative.