Parliament watchdog will not open new investigation over Johnson’s flat refurb

Read More

Boris Johnson will not face a new investigation by the parliamentary standards commissioner, Kathryn Stone, over the refurbishment of the Downing Street flat, No 10 has confirmed.

The prime minister had been accused of failing to be transparent about the financing of the project, the cost of which was initially met by the Tory donor David Brownlow.

Asked about reports that Stone would not pursue the matter further, however, Johnson’s official spokesperson said: “It’s not for me to speak for or on behalf of her, but she has confirmed that they won’t be looking at the flat.”

It is understood that a letter from Stone was received by Johnson last week saying that she was not minded to pursue a fresh inquiry. The letter has not yet been published.

The prime minister was criticised last week by his independent ethics adviser, Christopher Geidt, over his failure to hand over WhatsApp exchanges with Lord Brownlow, when a previous investigation into the refurbishment by Lord Geidt was carried out.

Johnson issued a “humble and sincere apology” for failing initially to give Geidt the key messages. Geidt is pressing for more powers in order to cement his independence from Downing Street.

Stone, who oversees the code of conduct for MPs, had made clear she would decide whether to take a fresh look at the issue once the Electoral Commission had reported on it.

The commission fined the Conservative party ?17,800 for failing to disclose payments from Brownlow’s company of ?67,801.72, which it said should have been registered as political donations. Johnson later repaid the money himself.

In the WhatsApp messages, published by Geidt last week, Johnson complained that the flat, for which he receives ?30,000 a year to maintain it, was “a bit of a tip”.

Johnson told Geidt that the missing WhatsApp messages had only belatedly come to light because he had changed his phone. Their existence was revealed by the Electoral Commission report into the funding of the refurbishment.

The WhatsApp exchange sparked fresh questions about “cash for access”, with Johnson and Brownlow discussing “Great Exhibition 2.0,” a plan favoured by the peer, alongside the funding of the designer revamp of the flat.

Brownlow was later given the opportunity to discuss the idea with the then culture secretary, Oliver Dowden, at the Royal Albert Hall.

Johnson’s botched attempt to overhaul the system for policing MPs’ conduct over the case of the disgraced Tory former MP Owen Paterson was seen by some at Westminster as an attempt to prevent Stone prying further into the prime minister’s own affairs.

She can recommend a suspension from parliament, as she did in Paterson’s case.