London: Britain s Electoral Commission announced a formal probe into how Prime Minister Boris Johnson paid for a lavish makeover of his Downing Street flat, seriously escalating a simmering scandal.
The commission, which regulates party and election finance, has the powers to demand the repayment of questionable donations, levy fines, or ultimately refer investigations to the police for criminal prosecution.
“We are now satisfied that there are reasonable grounds to suspect that an offence or offences may have occurred. We will therefore continue this work as a formal investigation to establish whether this is the case,” the watchdog said.
The probe significantly darkens the cloud hanging over the Conservative prime minister ahead of UK-wide local elections on May 6, the first polls to be held since the Covid-19 pandemic and since Brexit took full effect this year.
An hour after the commission s announcement, Johnson again denied any wrongdoing during a bad-tempered exchange in parliament.
“I ve conformed in full with the code of conduct and ministerial code,” he said, as he came under sustained opposition pressure to state who paid for the revamp, amid wider accusations of cronyism during the pandemic.
Addressing main opposition Labour party leader Keir Starmer, Johnson said: “He goes on and on about wallpaper when I ve told him umpteen times now, I paid for it.”
Johnsons press aides have insisted he has paid for any refurbishment beyond an annual government allowance, and that Conservative Party funds are not being used.
But they have failed to explain if party funds were used initially, amid reports that a rich Conservative backer stumped up a donation of 58,000 pound ($80,000) which was not reported to the Electoral Commission as required by law.
The Conservative Party said it believed “all reportable donations have been transparently and correctly declared” to the commission, but promised to “work constructively” with the investigators.
Johnson s press secretary said the probe concerned the party more than the prime minister, but said “he and the government will be happy to assist in that”.
The investigation comes after a war of words erupted between Johnson and his former top aide Dominic Cummings over the premier s coronavirus policies and financial dealings.
Cummings, the strategist behind the 2016 campaign for Britain to leave the European Union, quit Downing Street in December under a cloud of acrimony.
He wrote on his personal blog on Friday that Johnson had sought to use potentially illegal donations to renovate his publicly funded Downing Street accommodation, reportedly at a cost of up to 200,000 pound. AFP
