The Election Commission is currently conducting a formal investigation into funding for the Prime Minister’s renovation of his Downing Street apartment.
Why is the investigation taking place?
Questions have multiplied on how and when Boris JohnsonThe renovation of his private apartment, above 11 Downing Street, has paid off.
In leaked emails, it recently emerged that the multi-millionaire donor Lord Brownlow gave the Conservative 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 paid “personally” the costs of a “larger renovation” of the apartment.
What will the investigation of the electoral commission consist of?
According to the Electoral Commission, they have been in contact with the Conservative Party since the end of March and have “carried out an assessment of the information they provided us”.
The watchdog is now “convinced that there are reasonable grounds to suspect that one or more infractions may have occurred” and has therefore launched a formal investigation to “determine whether this is the case”.
“The investigation will determine whether any transactions relating to the 11 Downing Street works fall under the scheme regulated by the Commission and whether such funding …
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Source: news.sky.com
This notice was published: 2021-04-28 14:55:00
