In February/March Boris Johnson’s then-press secretary Allegra Stratton denied any party funds were used for refurbishments – contrary to the government’s non-denial on Tuesday.
Labour has
accused Boris Johnson of lying over who paid for the refurbishment of his
Downing Street flat as the party demanded an investigation into a potential
“cover-up”.
One shadow
minister demanded: “We really need to know who the prime minister is beholden
to.”
It comes on
another day of negative headlines and accusations about the PM.
The
government is on the record as saying Johnson has covered the cost of the
renovation, which some reports have suggested totalled £200,000.
However, the
key question remains over who initially paid for it, something that would have
to be declared.
His former
chief adviser Dominic Cummings has said Johnson wanted donors to “secretly pay”
for the work.
On Monday,
ITV reported Johnson received a loan from the Conservative Party, which he is
now paying back. However, this has not been declared. Number 10 refused to deny
the report on Tuesday.
Meanwhile,
Johnson himself did not deny discussing using donations to fund the
refurbishment on Monday, when he said “if there’s anything to be said about
that, any declaration to be made, that will, of course, be made in due course”.
Shadow health
secretary Jonathan Ashworth told BBC Breakfast on Tuesday: "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.
“Who has paid
for his furniture, for the sofa, for the bed that he sleeps in? And we haven’t
had that full and frank explanation from the PM so far.
“To be
honest, he lied yesterday. That's not good enough."
Simon Case,
the head of the Civil Service, has been tasked with reviewing the refurbishment
of the flat, which is in 11, Downing Street.
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