Boris Johnson likens Downing Street decor to 'a crack den' as he defends lavish £200k refurb amid Starmer gift row
8 October 2024, 09:15
Boris Johnson has claimed the inside of his Downing Street apartment resembled a "crack den" before its refurbishment, as the former PM defended his lavish £200k spend to LBC.
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Speaking with Nick Ferrari at Breakfast, the former PM's come as Johnson accused Keir Starmer of "unbelievable" spending.
"I don't know why he's still wearing those spectacles," said Johnson. "Well apart from the fact he can't see. He can't see what a mess he's making of things.”
"I mean, the guy, he's a silk, right? I mean, he must be worth a bob or two," claimed Johnson, noting Starmer accepting such gifts before becoming PM "looks corrupt".
It comes as Johnson refuted claims a refurbishment bill during his stint as PM amounted to £200,000, insisting “it wasn’t as much as that”.
“I can tell you I paid the whole thing myself,” Johnson insisted, when pushed by Nick on the bill.
He insisted the refurb, footed by Lord Brownlow to the tune of nearly £58,000, was repaid by Johnson in full after he discovered the donor's identity.
The comments come despite figures revealing Johnson spent more money on his Downing Street flat renovation than Sir Keir Starmer has received in gifts and freebies since becoming Labour leader in 2019.
It follows Starmer's declaration of gifts, benefits and hospitality - donation figures to the tune of £107,145 since December 2019 - which many have flagged as a hypocritical.
Boris Johnson joins Nick Ferrari | Watch the full interview
“Frankly, once I pulled the carpets out of the flat in number 11, which is where we lived, because Dylan was then in the stages of being — the whole thing was looking a bit like a crack den to be totally honest, and it needed to be refurbished,” Johnson revealed.
It comes just months after interior designer Lulu Lytle, the creative responsible for Boris Johnson’s lavish Downing Street refurb, was awarded an OBE as part of the King’s Birthday Honours list.
Read more: Brexit is currently a 'nine out of ten' and it 'saved lives', Boris Johnson tells LBC
A leaked estimate of the refurbishment works obtained by the Independent last year revealed the the Prime Minister’s Downing Street flat costs totalled more than £200,000.
The comments come ahead of the release of Mr Johnson's memoir Unleashed, which is released later this month.
Boris' wife Carrie Johnson drafted in Lyte, a highly regarded interior designer, to undertake a full refurb of the PM's apartment in 2020.
Notable items included in the leaked estimate are said to include a £3,675 drinks trolley - likened to the one owned by ballet dancer Rudolph Nureyev - and £2,260 worth of the “gold” wallpaper.
The list also featured two sofas priced at more than £15,000, with a further £3,000 tabled for a “paint effect” for the flat hallway.
The cheapest item on the list was a £500 kitchen table cloth.
During the refurb, the designer was also pictured at Mr Johnson’s lockdown birthday party - which led to both Mr Johnson and Rishi Sunak being handed fines by the Met.
Mr Johnson, who was Prime Minister from 2019-2022, stood down amid a mass resignation of government minister, as a result of a sexual misconduct scandal involving a deputy chief whip, and the Partygate Covid row.
Boris Johnson's memoir Unleashed is out on October 10.
