London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Sep 17, 2025

Senior Tories urge PM to come clean on funding of Downing Street refurb

Senior Tories urge PM to come clean on funding of Downing Street refurb

Johnson faces growing disquiet after allegations he was loaned £58,000 from party funds while being seen to personally foot the bill

Boris Johnson is being urged by senior Tories to come clean about the funding of his flat refurbishment as it emerged that a former Labour chancellor refused to join a trust overseeing Downing Street upkeep out of concerns it could lead to a cash-for-access scandal.

The prime minister faced growing disquiet from within his own party on Tuesday over allegations that he was loaned £58,000 from Conservative party funds while being seen to personally foot the bill for renovations of his Downing Street residence.

Reports have alleged that the refurbishment was initially paid for by a donation from Tory peer and donor Lord Brownlow to Conservative campaign headquarters (CCHQ), which then loaned the money to Johnson.

No 10 has insisted that “Conservative party funds are not being used to pay for the Downing Street flat” but have not denied the existence of a donation or loan arrangement. Labour has demanded a formal investigation into whether the government was trying to orchestrate a “cover-up”.

It comes as Johnson faced pressure on a number of fronts, including claims that he said he would rather see “bodies pile high” than order a third coronavirus lockdown last year.

On Tuesday the Guardian confirmed that Alistair Darling turned down an offer to be a member of a new trust to refurbish No 10 and No 11 Downing Street, citing concerns about the potential for donors to expect political favours.

After being approached through the office of Labour leader Keir Starmer in July, Darling is said to have expressed concern about the plans – first due to a belief that the state has a duty to maintain the iconic buildings and second because of what he saw as a significant risk of cash for access.

The head of the civil service, Simon Case, confirmed on Monday that the idea of a trust had been looked into but would not have worked. “A charitable trust can’t cover private areas of Downing Street, so that’s clear that that can’t be done,” he told MPs.

The full cost of the refurbishment works has not been confirmed but is thought to have gone well above the £30,000 cap available for premiers to claim taxpayers’ money. No date has been set yet for when the Cabinet Office will publish its annual accounts or the register of ministers’ interests, which is expected to shed light on the funding.

The ministerial code stipulates that ministers “must ensure that no conflict arises, or could reasonably be perceived to arise, between their public duties and their private interests, financial or otherwise”. The Electoral Commission is considering opening a formal investigation into whether all donations were properly declared by the Conservative party.

On Friday Johnson’s former chief of staff Dominic Cummings revealed that he had been deeply opposed to soliciting donations for the flat’s refurbishment. Cummings claimed he warned Johnson that the plans were “unethical, foolish, possibly illegal and almost certainly broke the rules on proper disclosure of political donations if conducted in the way he intended”.

On Tuesday a cabinet minister said that, while they detected little public pressure on the issue, giving Johnson some room for manoeuvre, there was a feeling that clarity would now help. “My view has always been that start with the truth, that’s where you’ll end up anyway,” they urged.

Some Tory MPs railed privately at their party and raised questions about co-chair Amanda Milling, who said less than a month ago that “Conservative party funds are not being used to pay for the Downing Street flat”.

The same claim was made by the prime minister’s former press secretary Allegra Stratton about the residence, where Johnson lives with his fiancee, Carrie Symonds, and their son.

Tory MPs said there could be an innocent answer to how Johnson footed the costs but that a lack of proof was making things worse. “There’s a reasonable set of questions that need to be answered – our position at the moment isn’t ideal,” one said.

Concern is also rising that while the issue may not have had significant cut-through with the public yet, it may in the days ahead, including in the run-up to elections on 6 May.

A senior MP said: “Broadly I do think the ‘he said/she said’ stuff just turns everybody off politics full stop, and generally the mood is positive. But after a while the general atmosphere – rather than the specific details – around trust start to seep out. I sometimes wonder who is actually working for the PM and who is working for their own little tribe. It will need a long-term fix, not a quick one.”

Caroline Slocock, former private secretary to Margaret Thatcher who now runs the Civil Exchange thinktank, told the Guardian she was “concerned” about any donors “paying for work which the prime minister should be paying for”, adding: “We do appear to have a very un-transparent situation here, which is a problem.”

Labour’s deputy leader, Angela Rayner, has demanded that Case investigates Stratton’s denials last month that Tory funds were used to help pay for the renovations. Case revealed on Monday that he has opened an inquiry into the matter, and Rayner said it should include whether Stratton had broken the civil service code on acting with honesty and integrity.

He was urged by Rayner to look into whether Stratton “knowingly misled journalists and the public, or was misled herself by senior members of the government who seem intent on a cover-up”.

No 10 said: “Any costs of wider refurbishment this year beyond those provided for by the annual allowance have been met by the prime minister personally. Conservative party funds are not being used for this.”

A Conservative party spokesperson added: “All reportable donations to the Conservative party are correctly declared to the Electoral Commission, published by them and comply fully with the law. Gifts and benefits received in a ministerial capacity are, and will continue to be, declared in Government transparency returns.”

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Hong Kong Industry Group Calls for HK$20 Billion Support Fund to Ease Property Market Stress
Joe Biden’s Post-Presidency Speaking Fees Face Weak Demand amid Corporate Reluctance
Charlie Kirk's murder will break the left's hateful cancel tactics
Kash Patel erupts at ‘buffoon’ Sen. Adam Schiff over Russiagate: ‘You are the biggest fraud’
Homeland Security says Emmy speech ‘fanning the flames of hatred’ after Einbinder’s ‘F— ICE’ remark
Charlie Kirk’s Alleged Assassin Tyler Robinson Faces Death Penalty as Charges Formally Announced
Actor, director, environmentalist Robert Redford dies at 89
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
JD Vance Says There Is “No Unity” with Those Who Celebrate Charlie Kirk’s Killing, and he is right!
Trump sues the 'New York Times' for an astronomical sum of 15 billion dollars
Florida Hospital Welcomes Its Largest-Ever Baby: Annan, Nearly Fourteen Pounds at Birth
U.S. and Britain Poised to Finalize Over $10 Billion in High-Tech, Nuclear and Defense Deals During Trump State Visit
China Finds Nvidia Violated Antitrust Laws in Mellanox Deal, Deepens Trade Tensions with US
US Air Force Begins Modifications on Qatar-Donated Jet Amid Plans to Use It as Air Force One
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
Elon Musk Retakes Lead as World’s Richest After Brief Ellison Surge
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
London Daily Podcast: London Massive Pro Democracy Rally, Musk Support, UK Economic Data and Premier League Results Mark Eventful Weekend
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Musk calls for new UK government at huge pro-democracy rally in London, but Britons have been brainwashed to obey instead of fighting for their human rights
Elon Musk responds to post calling for the murder of Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk: 'Either we fight back or they will kill us'
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
USA: Office Depot Employees Refused to Print Poster in Memory of Charlie Kirk – and Were Fired
Proposed U.S. Bill Would Allow Civil Suits Against Judges Who Release Repeat Violent Offenders
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
French Debt Downgrade Piles Pressure on Macron’s New Prime Minister
US and UK Near Tech, Nuclear and Whisky Deals Ahead of Trump Trip
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
Anesthesiologist Left Operation Mid-Surgery to Have Sex with Nurse
Tens of Thousands of Young Chinese Get Up Every Morning and Go to Work Where They Do Nothing
The New Life of Novak Djokovic
The German Owner of Politico Mathias Döpfner Eyes Further U.S. Media Expansion After Axel Springer Restructuring
Suspect Arrested: Utah Man in Custody for Charlie Kirk’s Fatal Shooting
In a politically motivated trial: Bolsonaro Sentenced to 27 Years for Plotting Coup After 2022 Defeat
German police raid AfD lawmaker’s offices in inquiry over Chinese payments
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Volkswagen launches aggressive strategy to fend off Chinese challenge in Europe’s EV market
ChatGPT CEO signals policy to alert authorities over suicidal youth after teen’s death
The British legal mafia hit back: Banksy mural of judge beating protester is scrubbed from London court
Surpassing Musk: Larry Ellison becomes the richest man in the world
Embarrassment for Starmer: He fired the ambassador photographed on Epstein’s 'pedophile island'
Manhunt after 'skilled sniper' shot Charlie Kirk. Footage: Suspect running on rooftop during panic
Effective Protest Results: Nepal’s Prime Minister Resigns as Youth-Led Unrest Shakes the Nation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
King Charles and Prince Harry Share First In-Person Moment in 19 Months
×