‘Businessman bunged housing chief brother £285,000’

A businessman paid nearly £300,000 to his brother in return for lucrative housing contracts, a court heard. Ashley Parker, 63, allegedly bribed 64-year-old Jugal Sharma when he was housing director at Brighton and Hove City Council between 2004 and 2014. Parker was running Kem Ltd which became one of the largest providers of private rented housing to the authority. Southwark Crown Court heard Parker changed his name by deed poll from Ashone Sharma in 2006, and the council was unaware…