PM ‘lied’ over Renogate

Boris Johnson misled public over flat refurbishments, says opposition

LONDON: Downing Street has been accused of misleading the public over claims the Conservative Party helped to pay £58,000 ($105,000) towards the cost of refurbishing the Tory Prime Minister’s flat.

Last month, Allegra Stratton, Boris Johnson’s press secretary at the time, said Tory funds had “not been used” to pay for the cost of redecorating the private apartment above 11 Downing Street, where the Prime Minister and Carrie Symonds, his fiancee, live. Ms Stratton is said to have “inadvertently” deviated from the official line with that denial.

It is understood Conservative Party funds were used to pay the bill for the flat nine months ago. A Whitehall source said: “The line was supposed to be that no payments are being made, not denying that payments have been made in the past. It’s a mess.”

The source said Mr Johnson had hoped the cost of the refurbishment would eventually be met by a new Downing Street charitable trust, which would be funded by donors.

However, Simon Case, the Cabinet Secretary, confirmed this week that such an arrangement would be illegal.

Downing Street has said the Prime Minister is now covering the cost of the renovation himself. There are suggestions he is doing so with the help of a loan from a Tory donor.

The Labour opposition has accused the Prime Minister of deliberately lying over who paid for the renovations.

Opposition health spokesman Jonathan Ashworth said: “We really need to know who’s given the loan, who’s given the money, because we need to know who the Prime Minister is beholden to. To be honest, he lied yesterday — that is not good enough.”

Labour has also called for an investigation into whether Ms Stratton “knowingly misled” journalists. Angela Rayner, Labour’s deputy leader, said: “As a special adviser, Allegra Stratton is bound by the civil service code, which sets out the standards of integrity and honesty required from public officials.

“Therefore, I would urge you to build into your review an investigation into whether the former press secretary knowingly misled journalists and the public or was misled herself by senior members of the government who seem intent on a cover-up. To maintain public trust, it is vital that the government publishes the long-delayed list of ministers’ interests and details of who paid for Boris Johnson’s flat.”

Ms Stratton left her role as press secretary last week after the Prime Minister scrapped plans for live televised press briefings. She is now his spokeswoman for the Cop26 climate conference.