Secrets of the money trail behind Carrie’s No10 makeover
THE mystery over the lavish makeover of the Prime Minister’s Downing Street flat deepened last night after claims emerged of a secret Tory money trail used to pay for it.
Conservative tycoon Lord Brownlow is said to have paid an estimated £60,000 to Tory HQ after the party had paid a similar sum via the Cabinet Office to help Mr Johnson and fiancée Carrie Symonds refit their apartment.
In another twist, it is alleged the Tories plan to state publicly that the money came from a new ‘Downing Street Trust’ – even though the bill was settled months ago by Lord Brownlow.
The developments follow a series of disclosures by the Daily Mail regarding a six-figure sum spent on new decor for the couple’s 11 Downing Street apartment.
This newspaper can now reveal details of a labyrinthine money trail reportedly used to cover up the payments for re-decorations and furnishings in a controversy dubbed ‘Wallpaper-gate’ by aides.
According to Downing Street sources, the complex scheme was devised ‘in a panic’ when Mr Johnson said he could not afford the expensive decor chosen by Miss Symonds. The allegations are expected to lead to new pressure on the Prime Minister and Conservative chiefs to say who paid for the refurbishment; how and when it was funded and why full details have still not been made public.
There is no suggestion of any wrongdoing by the respected Lord Brownlow, 57, below, who has close links to the Royal Family.
According to Downing Street insiders, cash for the makeover was channelled via a tangled web which involved:
A payment of around £60,000 from Tory party coffers to the Cabinet Office, which is responsible for maintaining Downing Street, to pay for expensive items;
A payment of the same amount from Lord Brownlow to Conservative HQ to reimburse the party;
A plan by Tory chiefs to state publicly that the £60,000 came not from party HQ or Lord Brownlow, but from a newly established ‘Downing Street Trust’. A No 10 spokesman said last night: ‘Conservative Party funds are not being used to pay for any refurbishment to the Downing Street estate. All reportable donations to the Conservative Party are correctly declared to the Electoral Commission, published by them and comply fully with the law. ‘At all times, the Government and ministers have acted in accordance with the appropriate codes of conduct. Cabinet Office officials have been engaged and informed throughout and official advice has been followed. Gifts and benefits received in a ministerial capacity are, and will continue to be, declared in Government transparency returns.’ The payments by Tory HQ and Lord Brownlow are said to have been made about six months ago.
All MPs, including the Prime Minister, must declare in the Commons Register of Interests any cash or other benefit from outside sources which could influence their actions. They must do so within 28 days. Mr Johnson’s entry in the register contains no mention of any payment or other help towards meeting the cost of the refit of his Downing Street flat.
Confusion over who is paying for the refurbishment is compounded because of the Prime Minister’s plans for a new trust to ‘save Downing Street for the nation’.
Publicly, No 10 aides say the trust is to maintain fading state rooms in Downing Street and will be funded by Conservative donors. Privately, they concede it was designed in haste principally to pay for the current makeover. Even t w though Mr Johnson appointed Lord Brownlow last summer to run the trust, no official announcement about it has been made.
According to one aide, Mr Johnson brushed aside warnings that getting the Conservative Party to pay for the lavish flat refit could be unethical and inappropriate – especially during the pandemic.
And he is said to have ignored advice that he should borrow the money from a bank.
‘He said Carrie had gone full speed ahead with the makeover, he needed the money quickly and the way to do it discreetly was to get donors to pay,’ the aide said.
According to one senior Conservative, Cabinet Secretary Simon Case is said to have been unaware of the way Mr Johnson paid for the refurbishment.
Lord Brownlow and the Cabinet Office did not respond to requests for a comment.