Johnson locked out of shared country estate
FOR generations, it has been one of the best perks of the Foreign Secretary’s job – a 13th century country estate at their disposal to woo dignitaries and impress friends.
But it seems hopes of Chevening House being used by Boris Johnson any time soon have been dashed after its trustees refused to hand over the keys.
Mr Johnson has effectively been locked out of the residence in Sevenoaks, Kent, for months because of a dispute over how to share the Grade I-listed property with two other cabinet ministers, The Sunday Telegraph understands.
Three separate sources have disclosed that the Foreign Secretary is yet to spend a single night at the 115room mansion despite Theresa May signing off the new agreement in July.
Mr Johnson is said to have expressed frustration to friends that he cannot yet host them at the estate and may not be able to spend Christmas there as planned.
The hold-up is believed to be about exactly how Mr Johnson will share Chevening with Liam Fox, the International Trade Secretary, and David Davis, the chief Brexit negotiator. Headlines were made earlier in the summer when Mrs May ordered the men – dubbed The Three Brexiteers – to share the estate, despite the Foreign Secretary usually using it alone. It is understood that while the three ministers and Number 10 are happy with the plan, the estate’s trustees have yet to fully sign off the unusual arrangement. It has been proposed that Mr Johnson’s Foreign Office department deals with bookings, while Mr Fox and Mr Davis request days they wish to take the house. A friend of Mr Johnson said: “The hold-up is over deciding who would use it, when and where. It is like arguing over a caravan in South Wales.” Mr Davis is not expected to use the property regularly, except to host foreign diplomats or hold round-tables to discuss Brexit negotiations. But despite the hold-up, a Cabinet Office spokesman insisted that all three Secretaries of State have “full access” to Chevening.