After Lord Geidt’s whitewash, Labour wants INDEPENDENT probe on Downing Street flat redecoration
Good advice: Boris Johnson can say what he likes about his alleged breaches of the ministerial code, but nobody in their right mind would take only his word for it.
Labour will be like a dog with a bone over Tory corruption.
You know why?
The party can’t attack the Tory government over its incompetent handling of Covid-19 because Keir Starmer supported every duff decision Boris Johnson made (until the evidence revealed those choices to have been homicidal).
And Starmer can’t criticise the Tories over Brexit because his choice of policy contributed to Labour’s spectacular loss of the 2019 general election. He would just be inviting ridicule.
But Tory corruption is a different matter.
And the controversy over the redecoration of the Downing Street Flat occupied by Boris (and Mrs) Johnson, dubbed “Wallpapergate” due to the enormous cost of the wallpaper they chose – more than £800 per roll – was only ever likely to get worse after the prime minister was cleared of wrongdoing by a man who is his employee.
And Labour has found a way to make this an actual Double Whammy.
Not only has Labour reported Johnson to the independent Parliamentary standards commissioner, but it has pointed out that he was warned to face stronger sanctions after a previous transgression.
He had failed to declare shares in a property by the deadline required for it to appear in the relevant register of MPs’ interests.
At the time, standards commissioner Kathryn Stone had reprimanded Johnson. She also warned that any further breaches may warrant “more serious sanction”.
Labour’s deputy leader, Angela Rayner, reminded Ms Stone of this in her letter requesting an independent investigation into Johnson’s failure to register a donation by Tory donor Lord Brownlow to pay for the flat redecoration.
She wrote: “Far from learning the lessons of his previous transgressions, the prime minister has continued with his attitude of treating basic standards of integrity, openness and transparency with contempt, and behaving as though there is one rule for him and another for everyone else.”
And she said the fact that Mr Johnson told Lord Geidt he became aware of the donations for the works on the flat in February this year but did not settle the invoices personally until March 8 suggests he is in breach of parliamentary rules on declaring donations that all MPs must follow.
Ms Stone is already investigating whether Mr Johnson properly declared a £15,000 holiday on the Caribbean island of Mustique with his now-wife Carrie.
Johnson is also facing two other inquiries into the flat refurbishment.
The Electoral Commission is investigating whether the Conservative Party broke the rules on declaring donations over the Downing Street flat and has the power to issue a fine of up to £20,000.
And Cabinet Secretary Simon Case, the UK’s top civil servant, is also examining whether donations were properly declared.
And it will only get worse for Johnson because he won’t stop breaking the rules. It seems he genuinely thinks he’s above the law.
Still, it’s great for political commentators like This Writer. It guarantees me stories for years to come.
As for you… if you like that sort of thing, I recommend you buy popcorn – in a regular supply.
Source: Labour demands further probe into Boris Johnson’s flat revamp – BBC News
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