No 10 denies Lord Geidt resignation rumours

The prime minister’s spokesperson has implied Boris Johnson’s independent standards adviser was not deliberately misled during the probe into investigation his flat refurbishment.

On Thursday the Electoral Commission issued the Conservative Party with a £17,800 fine for failing to properly declare the donations.

This Commission said it had obtained WhatsApp messages exchanged between Johnson and the Tory donor and peer Lord Brownlow, suggesting that Johnson asked the latter to “authorise” refurbishment works at his residence, to which Brownlow explained that he “knew where the funding was coming from.”

This is despite the fact that Johnson assured Lord Geidt’s investigation in May that he was first made aware of Lord Brownlow’s payments to cover his flat’s revamp in February 2021.

No 10’s spokesperson confirmed that Lord Geidt remains in his role, and suggested that he is being provided with fresh information to fulfil “any further questions he may have.”

An inquiry into the refurb can only be opened with the PM’s permission, which his spokesperson refused to discuss whether he would allow or not.

The spokesperson also alleged that all the information Lord Geidt wished to examine during the initial probe was available to him, but failed to explain why he had not seen the WhatsApp messages revealed by the Electoral Commission.