Gove gets keys to Number 10
in) But sorry, Michael, it’s not the one Downing Street and it cost you £2m
MICHAEL GOVE has finally achieved his ambition of moving into Number 10. But sadly for the Tory MP, his new home is not in Downing Street but in an ‘up-and-coming’ part of West London.
The former Education Secretary has paid about £ 2 million for an imposing house, with the famous numerals fixed to the black front door.
The Mail on Sunday has learned that Mr Gove bought the four-storey Victorian property from the Queen’s favourite hotelier, David MorganHewitt. The larger-than-life managing director of The Goring hit the headlines last year when he came to the Queen’s aid by escorting her to safety after an intruder disrupted her lunch at the venue.
The house – which will have landed Mr Gove with a £150,000 bill for stamp duty – features an open-plan kitchen and dining room, and double reception room which opens through French doors on to a garden terrace.
The selling agents raved about the ‘high ceilings and natural light’. They also highlighted its ‘fantastic location’ and the proximity to some of the capital’s most soughtafter schools.
Until he exchanged contracts on the three-bedroom property this month, Mr Gove lived in a £1.4 million house just a few hundred yards from David Cameron. But following Mr Gove’s decision to back the Brexit campaign in last June’s referendum, the two men are no longer close.
Mr Cameron resigned after the Brexit vote but Mr Gove saw his own Tory leadership ambitions go up in smoke. After withdrawing his support for Boris Johnson, Mr Gove decided to stand himself, but saw Tory MPs flock to the campaign of Theresa May instead.
Mr Gove said: ‘The current owners have impeccable taste, which is not something I am ever likely to be accused of. It is wonderful.’
Mr Morgan- Hewitt declined to comment.