Franklin, Andrews, Kramer & Edelstein

[scion]

Formal investigation launched into Boris Johnson's flat refurbishment

Greg Heffer, political reporter 39 mins ago
https://news.sky.com/story/boris-johnsons-flat-electoral-commission-launches-formal-investigation-into-refurbishment-of-pms-residence-12289269

A formal investigation has been launched into Boris Johnson's refurbishment of his Downing Street flat after a watchdog found "reasonable grounds to suspect that an offence or offences may have occurred".

The Electoral Commission on Wednesday announced they would look into whether any transactions related to the works on the prime minister's flat, above 11 Downing Street, were properly reported.

It follows days of questions over how and when Mr Johnson's refurbishment of his flat was funded.

In leaked emails, it has emerged that Tory donor Lord Brownlow offered the Conservative Party a £58,000 donation last year.

The money, according to emails seen by the Daily Mail, was to "cover the payments the party has already made on behalf of the soon to be formed 'Downing Street Trust'".

In the emails to Conservative Party officials from October, the Tory peer was also reported to have mentioned a £15,000 donation.

However, only the £15,000 donation has been listed on Electoral Commission records, with mystery surrounding the other £58,000 sum.

It has been confirmed that the government has, since last spring, been looking into whether a trust could be established to help fund upgrades of the prime minister's residence in Downing Street, with Lord Brownlow having agreed to be its chair.

But no such trust currently exists and Mr Johnson is now said to have "personally" paid for the costs of a "wider refurbishment" of the flat he shares with his fiancee Carrie Symonds.

Yet both Number 10 and the Conservative Party have not denied reports that Conservative Campaign Headquarters paid the Cabinet Office to cover initial costs of the works.

An Electoral Commission spokesperson said: "We have been in contact with the Conservative Party since late March and have conducted an assessment of the information they have provided to us.

"We are now satisfied that there are reasonable grounds to suspect that an offence or offences may have occurred. We will therefore continue this work as a formal investigation to establish whether this is the case.

"The investigation will determine whether any transactions relating to the works at 11 Downing Street fall within the regime regulated by the Commission and whether such funding was reported as required.

"We will provide an update once the investigation is complete. We will not be commenting further until that point."

https://news.sky.com/story/boris-johnsons-flat-electoral-commission-launches-formal-investigation-into-refurbishment-of-pms-residence-12289269