Ineos may have to disclose secret details of £2.6bn Antwerp project

Ruling should clarify impact on environment of chemicals plants backed by Jim Ratcliffe

Britain's richest man, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, and his chemicals company Ineos are facing a backlash over plans to build two chemical plants in Antwerp after a Flanders transparency watchdog ruled that key documents may have to be disclosed.

The Brexit-backing billionaire announced in January that Ineos would invest a3bn (2.6bn) in two plants at the port of Antwerp. Ratcliffe, the founder and chief executive of the petrochemicals company, said the investment was "the largest of its kind in Europe in more than a generation".