MP reports Boris Johnson to standards watchdog over flat costs

Labour's Margaret Hodge has reported Boris Johnson to the MPs' standards watchdog over how renovations to his flat were initially paid for.

Dame Margaret says it is "unacceptable" that the PM "refuses to publicly declare exactly where the upfront costs for this redecoration came from".

The PM says he has paid for the work himself.

But a number of inquiries are under way into whether the costs were initially covered by donations.

The Electoral Commission - the watchdog overseeing political finances - is investigating the Conservative Party's compliance with laws on political donations, having said there are "reasonable grounds to suspect that an offence or offences may have occurred".

Cabinet Secretary Simon Case and the prime minister's newly-appointed adviser on ministers' interests Lord Geidt are also looking into the issue.

Labour's Sir Keir Starmer said: "We just need to get to the bottom of this."

The party leader said it was "getting ridiculous" that Mr Johnson would not say who had initially paid for redecoration, adding: "The prime minister knows the answer to that question... [but] won't answer it."

The Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, Kathryn Stone, can put her evidence to the Standards Committee and recommend action. A meeting of the House of Commons can also consider the Committee's findings, and vote to suspend an MP for any amount of time between five days and 12 months.

In her letter to the Commissioner, Dame Margaret, the former chairwoman of the public accounts select committee, said "it would appear" that the prime minister had "repeatedly broken the general principles of the Code of Conduct".

She said Mr Johnson was still not being open and accountable with the media or Parliament.

In a tweet, she said the PM's misconduct was a "needless distraction from the challenges we all face".

Ms Stone has said she cannot confirm any MPs are under investigation while the UK is in an election period.

In a statement to the media, posted on her website, the Commissioner said she had recently been given the power to publish the names of MPs who her office is looking into.

But, she said she would release information of active investigations after 6 May's local elections.

On Thursday, the prime minister said the whole affair was a "farrago of nonsense" and added "I don't think there's anything to see here".