Boris Johnson flat: How much did the PM spend on the refurb?
BORIS JOHNSON is facing further investigations over how he paid for an extensive renovation of his Downing Street flat.
On April 22, 2021, ex-aide Dominic Cummings claimed the wanted Tory party donors to "secretly pay" for the works in a move which he said would have been "unethical, foolish, possibly illegal".
How much did Boris Johnson's flat refurb cost?
Boris Johnson's Downing Street flat and how he paid for a refurbishment of the property will be the focus of another review.
The internal probe comes after claims the PM solicited donations from Tory donors for the £58,000 refit.
But in the end the PM was forced to pay out of his own pocket after a huge sleaze row.
It's not clear when he paid out the cash - or from where he got the money.
On April 27, 2021, it was claimed there was a loan from the CCHQ (the Tory Party) to the PM via the Cabinet Office for the works in his home, which has now been paid back.
Top mandarin Simon Case revealed that a fresh investigation would take place into whether donations were properly recorded.
He said: "The Prime Minister has asked me to conduct a review into how this has been done and asked that I share the details of those conclusions with the committee."
Officials looked at whether to set up a trust to pay for the upkeep, he revealed, but that it wouldn't be able to pay for the refurbishments required as they were private parts of the building, not public.
What renovations did he make to the flat?
In accordance with the rules surrounding expenses and salaries of politicians, prime ministers are entitled to a maximum public grant of £30,000 a year for the upkeep of their home.
Mr Johnson and Ms Symonds are believed to have carried out work on the flat, most of which was understood to be undertaken in early March 2021.
According to Tatler, the couple wanted to transform the flat from Mr Johnson's predecessor Theresa May's "John Lewis furniture nightmare" into a "high society haven".
Reports claim the flooring in the hall was stripped and polished and the living room was painted a deep green.
also reports the couple enlisted the services of interior designer and co-founder of Soane Britain, Lulu Lytle, for the latest makeover of the property, which would have absorbed a large portion of the money spent.
The publication also claims its likely the flat would have been kitted out in Ms Lytle’s signature printed wallpapers - some of which start at £100 a metre.
How much did previous Prime Ministers spend on the Downing Street flat refurb?
On April 27, Michael Gove came out batting for the PM, stressing that previous PMs have splashed tens of thousands of pounds of taxpayers' cash on doing up the No10 flat how they fancied.
Ex-PM Tony Blair spent £73,000 in 1998/9, and another £55,000 between 2000 and 2001, he revealed.
And Gordon Brown blew another £35,000 on more upgrades, he added.
Mr Gove said: "The PM has spent his own money on refurbishing Downing Street.
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"It seems that some critics are more concerned about the world of interiors than the world where the rest of us live."
He vowed that all donations received by politicians would be declared in the proper way.
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Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said the PM has paid "out of his own pocket" for the flat upgrades and stressed: "Do I think the Prime Minister is sleazy? No, I don't."