Labour in call for answers from PM
LABOUR has called for the review into how Boris Johnson’s refurbishments of his Downing Street flat were financed to be expanded to investigate whether the public was misled over the renovations.
No 10 declined yesterday to deny suggestions that the Prime Minister received a loan from the Conservative Party to cover the initial costs, before repaying the party.
But that claim appears to run contrary to what Mr Johnson’s then press secretary Allegra Stratton said last month when she denied any party funds were used for refurbishments.
As Mr Johnson faced mounting questions over the work, Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner urged Cabinet Secretary Simon Case to expand his review to investigate the comments.
She urged him to probe “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”.
The Prime Minister was facing continued questions of how the works were paid for, after former aide Dominic Cummings said Mr Johnson wanted donors to “secretly
pay” for the work in an “unethical, foolish, possibly illegal” move.
The Tories declined to deny a suggestion, first reported by ITV, that the Conservative Campaign Headquarters paid the Cabinet Office to cover initial costs of the refurbishments, with Mr Johnson now repaying the party. The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “Any costs of the wider refurbishment in No 10 have been met by the Prime Minister and he has acted in accordance with the appropriate codes of conduct and electoral law.”
He was pressed on a denial by the Prime Minister’s former press secretary Allegra Stratton in a Westminster briefing with journalists on March 8. “Conservative Party funds are not being used to pay for any refurbishment of the Downing Street estate,” she had said.
But asked about suggestions to the contrary yesterday, Mr Johnson’s spokesman said: “I’ve seen the reports and the speculation on that, I’m not going to jump ahead of any potential declarations that need to be made.”
Mr Case, the head of the Civil Service, has been tasked with reviewing the refurbishment of the flat in No 11.
In a letter to the Cabinet Secretary, Ms Rayner said: “As a special adviser, Allegra Stratton is bound by the Civil Service Code, which sets out 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.”
Ms Stratton, who moved roles this month after No 10 scrapped plans to hold televised press briefings fronted by the former journalist, is yet to respond.