Downing Street: Plan to fund makeover of PM's residence 'speculation'

No 10 has refused to comment on reports Boris Johnson is considering setting up a charity to pay for refurbishments to his official Downing Street residence.

The Daily Mail reported that a revamp of the flat lived in by the PM and his fiancee Carrie Symonds could be funded by wealthy Conservative benefactors.

A spokeswoman said Downing Street was a Grade One listed building which had been periodically improved in the past.

Labour said the public had a right to know the cost and who would be paying.

And the SNP said greater clarity was needed over any move to set up a new Downing Street fund.

Like several of his recent predecessors, Mr Johnson is living in the flat above No 11 Downing Street, the chancellor of the exchequer's official residence.

The four-bedroom flat, which is much larger than the flat above No 10 once occupied by Margaret Thatcher, was extensively refurbished by David and Samantha Cameron in 2011 at a cost of £30,000.

The couple spent the maximum £30,000 public grant available to prime ministers each year for the upkeep of their accommodation.

Tony Blair and Cherie Blair also spent thousands on turning the space into a family home when they lived there.

Mr Johnson and Ms Symonds moved into No 11 in July 2019. Their son Wilfred was born in April 2020.

There have been unconfirmed reports that the couple are undertaking extensive refurbishment work on the flat and considering options for how any expenditure over the £30,000 annual limit would be covered.

No 10 said suggestions some of the work could be funded by Tory supporters via a charity set up for the purpose of preserving Downing Street's heritage were "speculation".

In the US, a scheme of this kind pays for restoration work in the White House.

No 10 said details of any work carried out on the property would be published in the normal way later this year.

"Matters concerning any work on Downing Street, including the residences, are covered in the Cabinet Office annual report and accounts," a spokeswoman said. "That is where we set out the details of what has happened.

"Downing Street is a working building, as has been the case under successive administrations, refurbishment and maintenance are made periodically."

But opposition parties are questioning whether it is appropriate for "significant" sums of public money to spent on the flat when millions of people are facing financial hardship due to Covid.

Labour MP Sarah Owen has written to the PM asking him for details of taxpayers' contribution and to consider whether involving private Conservative donors in funding the project could lead to conflicts of interest.

"The British public rightly expect probity, integrity and transparency when it comes to spending public money," she said.

The SNP said the move would be "grossly inappropriate", suggesting the PM - who is paid a salary of £150,000 a year - should fund the improvements out of his own pocket.

"It reeks of secrecy and, unless all the accounts are fully published, suspicion will linger about where the money is coming from and whether anything has been offered in return," said the party's Pete Wishart.

In 2011, the Cabinet Office was forced to reveal details of the scale of the work undertaken by the Camerons after a ruling by the then Information Commissioner Christopher Graham.

It revealed that much of the expenditure had gone on a new kitchen, while the flat had been almost completely re-wired, re-plumbed and re-decorated. The couple covered the cost of furniture, fittings and accessories themselves.

Their sleek, modern kitchen was much commented on after it served as a backdrop to a famous picture of Samantha Cameron entertaining First Lady Michelle Obama in Downing Street during the 2011 US state visit.

The 2011 accounts also showed more than £650,000 had been spent on external and internal renovation of the offices and reception rooms in No 10, including cabling, plumbing and energy efficiency improvements.