An official investigation has been opened into Boris Johnson’s renovation of his Downing Street apartment after a watchdog found “reasonable grounds to suspect that one or more infractions may have occurred”.
The Election Commission said on Wednesday it would review whether transactions related to the work of the Prime Minister’s apartment above 11 Downing Street were properly reported.
It comes amid growing questions about how and when Mr Johnson’s renovation of his apartment was funded.
In leaked emails it emerged that Tory donor Lord Brownlow offered the Tory Party a donation of £ 58,000 last year.
The money, according to emails viewed by the Daily Mail, was to “cover payments the party has already made on behalf of the soon to be formed ‘Downing Street Trust’.”
In emails to Tory Party officials in October, the Tory peer also reportedly mentioned a donation of £ 15,000.
However, only the £ 15,000 donation has been listed in the Election Commission records, with mystery surrounding the other £ 58,000.
It has been confirmed that the government, since last spring, has questioned whether a trust could be established to help fund the modernization of the Prime Minister’s Residence in Downing Street, with Lord Brownlow agreeing to be its chairman.
But such trust currently does not exist and Mr Johnson has now reportedly “personally” paid the costs of a “larger renovation” of the apartment he shares with his fiancee Carrie Symonds.
Still, No. 10 and the Conservative Party did not deny reports that the Conservative campaign headquarters paid the Cabinet Office to cover the initial costs of the work.
A spokesperson for the Election Commission said: “We have been in contact with the Conservative Party since the end of March and have made an assessment of the information they provided us.
“We are now satisfied that there are reasonable grounds to suspect that an offense or …
More information about this article Read More
Source: news.sky.com
This notice was published: 2021-04-28 09:58:00
