By Ben Kerrigan-
Shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth has demanded a full explanation from the PM.
The Labour MP has jumped on the bandwagon of criticism against the prime minister following the controversial revelation associated with the leak about the refurbishment cost to Downing Street. The Labour Mp said: “We really need to know who’s given the loan, who’s given the money, because we need to know who the prime minister…is beholden to.
“To be honest he lied yesterday – that’s not good enough.”
Mr Johnson’s spokesman said the PM fully complied with all the rules, adding: “Any costs of the wider refurbishment in No 10 have been met by the prime minister and he has acted in accordance with the appropriate codes of conduct and electoral law.”
However, suspicion and criticism has grown after the prime minister’s spokesman refused to say if a statement in March from Mr Johnson’s former press secretary – who said “Conservative Party funds are not being used to pay for any refurbishment of the Downing Street estate” – was incorrect.
Labour has now written to the Cabinet Secretary, Simon Case, asking for an investigation into whether the press secretary, Allegra Stratton, “knowingly misled” journalists as part of a larger inquiry it wants into the flat renovation.
Included in the inquiry is an accusation the PM suggested he would rather see “bodies pile high” than approve a third lockdown, which sources familiar with the conversations have told the BBC.
Mr Johnson and No 10 strongly denied he said the phrase, as the PM described multiple reports as “total rubbish”.
Separately, the High Court has also decided to look into Mr Johnson’s decision that Home Secretary Priti Patel did not break Whitehall rules over bullying.
Declare
Labour’s Mr Ashworth told the BBC any loans or donations “should have been declared by now”.
He added: “He’s [the PM] the most powerful politician in the land and if business people have funded the upgrade of his flat then we need to know because we need to know if those business people have an interest in government policy, whether they have an interest in procuring government contracts.
“There’s a reason why we have rules around donations and loans to government ministers. Boris Johnson has to offer a full and frank explanation. He has to be transparent.
“If he has nothing to hide he’s got nothing to fear – but, so far, his behaviour suggests something fishy is going on.”
But Transport Secretary Grant Shapps defended the PM, saying the way the works on the flat was paid for has “all been done absolutely correctly” – although he would not answer questions on the reports of a loan.
He added: “There will be a Cabinet Office report when they put out their annual accounts and everyone will be able to see exactly what happened.”
Labour has called for a full inquiry into the cost and financing of the renovations, with the party’s deputy leader, Angela Rayner, saying the PM was “just not coming clean with the public”.
She added: “We believe that he’s potentially broken the rules. His previous senior adviser has accused him of being unethical and potentially unlawful.
“Why are you not telling people where this money has been coming from and who’s paid for your luxury flat?”
On Monday, the UK’s top civil servant, Mr Case said the prime minister had asked him to review how a refurbishment of the No 11 flat was funded.
He added that steps were being taken to tighten the rules around civil servants having second jobs in the wake of a row over the now-collapsed Greensill Capital, which employed ex-PM David Cameron.
F Conservative leader William Hague issued a warning not to “dismiss the latest allegations of sleaze as a fleeting problem”.