Boris Johnson faces parliamentary probe over £15,000 luxury New Year holiday in the Caribbean and could be forced to repay the money and make a public apology
- Prime Minister declared £15,000 ‘benefit’ for luxury New Year stay in Mustique
- Under parliamentary rules, MPs must identify people who give financial favours
- Mr Johnson named businessman David Ross for providing the gift who denied
The parliamentary sleaze watchdog is set to probe the mystery donor behind Boris Johnson’s freebie Caribbean holiday after no one confessed to paying for it.
The Prime Minister declared a £15,000 ‘benefit’ for his luxury New Year stay on Mustique with his girlfriend Carrie Symonds – but by last night, nobody had admitted giving the gift.
Under parliamentary rules, MPs must identify people who have done them financial favours. Mr Johnson named businessman David Ross for providing the gift. Mr Ross denied paying anything. The Daily Mail then tracked down the American owners of the magnificent villa, who said they received payment for the rental, but did not say from whom or how much.
The Prime Minister (pictured on a previous holiday to Turkey) declared that his week-long stay in a villa on Mustique with his partner Carrie Symonds was a £15,000 ‘benefit’
The Prime Minister declared a £15,000 ‘benefit’ for his luxury New Year stay on Mustique with his girlfriend Carrie Symonds (pictured on a different holiday)– but by last night, nobody had admitted giving the gift
Kathryn Stone, the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, was last night ready to launch an investigation and formally request information from both Mr Johnson and Mr Ross. If it is judged to be a misleading entry in the register, Mr Johnson could face sanctions such as a public apology and being made to repay the money. Mr Johnson, 55, and Miss Symonds, 31, spent ten days relaxing at Indigo, a three-bedroom villa nestled in the hillside of the Caribbean island.
In the New Year season, the house, which comes with its own chef, housekeeper and gardener, was advertised at $27,000 per week. A ten-day stay would have cost $38,500 (£29,500). The owners – banking heir Sarah Richardson, 71, and her husband Craig, 72 – said the stay was arranged by the island’s management authority the Mustique Company. The authority has not commented.
It was yesterday suggested Tory donor Mr Ross had been leant on by No10 to state he ‘facilitated’ the trip. His spokesman yesterday declined to comment. The Parliamentary standards commissioner’s office said it was standard practice not to confirm or deny who it is investigating.
- Mr Johnson will borrow Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab’s 115-room grace-and-favour mansion in Kent this weekend as his residence, Chequers, undergoes repairs.
Mr Ross said last night that while Mr Johnson had asked him for help finding accommodation on Mustique, he had not provided the luxury villa (pictured)
Downing Street sources insisted last night that Mr Johnson’s holiday had been properly declared. They claimed that Mr Ross was responsible for the gift as he had arranged the stay