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Boris Johnson confirms he will publish communications with James Dyson
Boris Johnson has denied that he sought to block an inquiry into the leak of plans for a second coronavirus lockdown in England after Dominic Cummings‘s explosive claims on Friday.
The prime minister’s former top adviser said his old boss wanted to stop the investigation after he was warned it could implicate a close friend of his fiancee Carrie Symonds.
Mr Cummings, who the prime minister had a day earlier accused of “systematic leaking”, wrote in a lengthy blog post that Mr Johnson had fallen “far below the standards of competence and integrity the country deserves”.
Meanwhile, longtime aide of the prime minister, Lord Udny-Lister, left his role as special envoy to the Gulf amid scrutiny of his private sector work.
Labour calls for release payment details for Downing Street flat refurbishment
Labour has called on Boris Johnson to release full details of how the refurbishment of his Downing Street flat was paid for.
The government claims the prime minister stumped up the cash, likely tens of thousands of pounds, himself, however, former top adviser Dominic Cummings accused Mr Johnson of wanting Tory donors to secretly fund the work.
Steve Reed, the shadow communities secretary, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “We are calling for the government to publish any correspondence relating to payments or donations around the refurbishment.
“We need to know the full amount that was spent and we need to know who paid for the work in the first place who the prime minister now proposes to reimburse.”
He added: “If people are making significant donations to the Conservative Party, to the government, we need to know who they are so that we can make sure the government isn’t doing favours for them in return.”
Liam James24 April 2021 08:25
Key Johnson aide leaves envoy post
One of Boris Johnson’s closest aides, Lord Udny-Lister, is leaving his post as special envoy to the Gulf amid scrutiny of his private sector work.
The peer served in City Hall as Mr Johnson’s chief of staff when he was mayor of London.
When Mr Johnson became Prime Minister in 2019, he brought Lord Udny-Lister into No 10 as his chief strategy adviser.
He recently took up the post of Gulf envoy.
In that role, it was reported that Mr Johnson asked him to investigate after Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman complained the Premier League was blocking a Saudi takeover bid for Newcastle United.
Meanwhile reports in The Sunday Times in February suggested the Lord had been on the payroll of two property firms while he was also working in Downing Street.
Liam James24 April 2021 08:18
Boris Johnson was accused last night by Dominic Cummings of lacking “competence and integrity”.
In a post on his blog, Mr Cummings made the explosive allegation – denied by No 10 – that the prime minister had made a “mad” and “unethical” proposal to shut down a leak inquiry to avoid annoying his fiancee Carrie Symonds after one of her friends was implicated.
Mr Cummings, who had been accused of leaking by Downing Street, said that the PM’s attempt to get Tory donors to pay for the redecoration of his flat was “possibly illegal”.
Liam James24 April 2021 08:01
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