The government s new standards adviser today slammed significant failings over the PM s £90,000 No11 flat refurbishment - but cleared him of breaking the ministerial code.
Lord Geidt criticised the handling of a planned trust to fund the overhaul of the grace and favour residence where Boris Johnson lives with fiancee Carrie and their son Wilf, saying it was not subject to rigorous project management by officials .
He also painted a picture of Mr Johnson not being engaged with what was happening on the project, suggesting he had little clue how it was being funded and was unwise not to keep closer control.
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Boris Johnson was unwise to allow flat refurbishment without more rigorous regard for how this would be funded , report finds
Lord Geidt, the prime minister s adviser on standards, deemed that while
the PM did not break the ministerial code, he had unwisely allowed the renovation to go ahead without knowing how it would be paid for.
He also discovered the
work to the PM s flat above Number 11 Downing Street had partially been paid for by a
Conservative Party donor.
The Health Secretary committed a “minor” but undeliberate breach of the ministerial code by failing to declare that a family firm he held shares in won an NHS contract, the Prime Minister’s ethics adviser has concluded.
Mr Hancock declared in the MPs’ register of interests in March this year that he owns 20% of shares in Topwood Limited, a firm owned by his sister and other close family members, which specialises in secure storage, shredding and scanning of documents.
The company, as first reported by the Health Service Journal (HSJ), won a place on a framework to provide services to the English NHS in 2019, as well as contracts with the NHS in Wales, after Mr Hancock was appointed to his Cabinet brief in July 2018.
Last modified on Fri 28 May 2021 12.01 EDT
Boris Johnson “unwisely” embarked on a refurbishment of his official Downing Street flat without knowing how it would be paid for, according to a report that found a “significant failing” by officials.
The Tory peer and party donor David Brownlow, and the Conservative party, initially stepped in to settle bills, said the report by the new independent adviser on ministers’ interests, Christopher Geidt.
However, Lord Geidt said that given factors such as the ongoing Covid pandemic, and Brownlow’s status as an existing party supporter, he was happy that “no conflict (or reasonably perceived conflict) arises as a result of these interests”.