30 September 2023 , 19:39
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Boris Johnson spent £7,000 of taxpayers’ cash painting over the infamous gold wallpaper in his Downing Street flat… while he was still PM.
The notorious makeover of his apartment in early 2022, at a cost of more than £112,000, prompted a scandal over who originally funded the work. It led to a £17,800 fine for his party for not properly declaring donations. Interior designer Lulu Lytle had been brought in by Mr Johnson’s wife Carrie to erase what was described as the “John Lewis nightmare” left by Theresa May. The bill included a £7,000 rug and wallpaper costing up to £225 a roll.
Boris Johnson was at the centre of a wallpaper scandal at his former home on Downing Street (PA)But Ms Lytle claimed last week that other so-called “gold wallpaper” she used – rumoured to have cost £840 a roll – was a yellow design at a more modest £120 a pop. But the Cabinet Office has confirmed two rooms were repainted in April 2022 at a cost of £7,015 – in the months between the revelations and Mr Johnson quitting.
A spokesperson for the ex-PM did not deny the work was to paint over wallpaper from Ms Lytle, but declined to comment further. The flat, above No11 Downing Street, is currently occupied by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt – who told LBC Radio in December: “It’s gone! It wasn’t me, it was removed before I went. When I went in, I went and had a look and it had been painted over.”