Downing Street insiders fear Dominic Cummings could publish WhatsApp messages that are at the hear of the government’s who-said-what row over lockdown.
Former chief adviser Cummings is locked in an explosive war of words with Boris Johnson after Downing Street accused him of a string of leaks – including claims about the PM’s £58,000 flat makeover.
Cummings reportedly left Downing Street with a ‘treasure trove’ of damaging information about the government and advisers now fear he will release tell-all WhatsApp messages if he is criticised too heavily.
The messages are said to contain information on the government’s lockdown strategy and allies of Cummings have claimed he also has audio recordings to hand.
A Whitehall official told the Sun: ‘Everyone is worried about going too hard on Dom in case he drags them in too.
‘Some very senior people are scrolling back through their phones wondering if they are in trouble.’
Downing Street insiders fear Dominc Cummings could release WhatsApp messages said to contain information on the government’s lockdown strategy
Boris Johnson faces the threat of suspension from the Commons if he is found to have failed to register a £60,000 Tory contribution to refurbishing his Downing Street flat.
The PM has already been put on notice he risks a ‘serious sanction’ after a report two years ago condemned his ‘repeated’ breaches of Parliamentary rules.
Conservative chiefs are believed to have secretly approved a £58,000 payment to the Cabinet Office in July last year to cover the works – which was on top of the £30,000 annual sum for upkeep that the taxpayer foots.
However, the government has insisted that the premier has now funded the overhaul himself. Downing Street has refused to deny reports that Mr Johnson secured a loan from a Tory donor – believed to be financier Lord Brownlow – to pay for the decor.
But experts say that should have been declared in the MPs’ register of interests within a month.
Mr Johnson has previously been berated by the Commons standards watchdog for repeatedly failing to declare financial interests.
In a report in Spring 2019 – shortly before he became PM – the cross-party committee said: ‘Should we conclude in future that Mr Johnson has committed any further breaches of the rules on registration, we will regard this as a matter which may call for more serious sanction.’
Beyond apologies, potential punishments could include suspension.
There is also speculation that if a donor footed the cost, Mr Johnson could face a significant tax bill because HMRC would consider it a benefit in kind.
Former chief adviser Cummings is locked in an explosive war of words with Boris Johnson after Downing Street accused him of a string of leaks – including claims about the PM’s £58,000 flat makeover
Former Cabinet Secretary Lord O’Donnell said transparency over the murky arrangements was ‘very late’, warning that PMs need to ‘set an example’ and ‘obey the rules’.
Whitehall sources have told the Mail Mr Johnson may be forced publicly to declare exactly how the costly refurbishment was funded.
One source said further details were likely to be revealed in an updated register of ministerial interests, which could be released as early as this week.
But Mr Johnson first has to appoint a new adviser on ministerial standards – a post that has been vacant since Sir Alex Allen resigned in November in protest at the PM’s refusal to sack Home Secretary Priti Patel over bullying allegations.
The appointment was due to be announced last week but the preferred candidate is said to be ‘wobbling’ about whether to accept the post.
The ministerial register is separate to that produced by Parliament.
It would not typically be used for declaring donations to ministers – although there are signs that Downing Street might argue that is the appropriate place to list the flat arrangements.
Cabinet Secretary Simon Case yesterday confirmed Mr Johnson had wanted to set up a charitable trust more than 12 months ago to pay for the flat’s refit.
But he said it was now clear that it would be illegal for a charitable trust to pay for the upkeep of private quarters.
Dyson hits back: There was nothing wrong with my texts to Boris Johnson over ventilators and the BBC twisted them to make it appear I was trying to ‘extract favours’, entrepreneur rages
Sir James Dyson has hit back at claims he acted inappropriately in texts with Boris Johnson and insisted he did not try to ‘extract favours from the Prime Minister’.
Speaking for the first time since the messages emerged last week, Sir James, 73, accused the BBC of ‘grotesque mischaracterisation’ over links between him and the Conservative Party.
He also said it was ‘entirely the right thing’ for Mr Johnson to contact him directly about proposed changes to the tax status of his employees making ventilators during the pandemic.
Sir James said: ‘The BBC’s characterisation of me as a prominent Conservative donor, or supporter, leveraging a position of power to extract favours from the Prime Minister, is completely untrue.
‘I have met Boris Johnson only three times… I have not attended any Conservative social events.’
Sir James Dyson, 73, accused the BBC of ‘grotesque mischaracterisation’ over links between him and the Conservative Party
He also said it was ‘entirely the right thing’ for Mr Johnson to contact him directly about proposed changes to the tax status of his employees making ventilators during the pandemic
Last week, Boris Johnson mounted a furious defence as he came under fire over the leaked private texts in which he promised Sir James he would ‘fix’ a tax rule so the tycoon’s staff could help make ventilators for the NHS.
Sir James wrote an official letter to the Treasury asking for the tax status of his staff to remain the same if they moved from Singapore to the UK to produce vital ventilators during the pandemic.
But in a private text seen by the BBC, Mr Johnson told Sir James that he ‘will fix it’ himself.
He then added ‘Rishi says it is fixed!! We need you here’.
Just two weeks later, Rishi Sunak told MPs that those coming into the UK to offer help during the pandemic would not see a change in their tax status.
It was the latest in a string of cronyism and lobbying questions facing the Conservative Party, after accusations that David Cameron used his influence and contacts to lobby ministers and officials behalf of his financier boss Lex Greensill.
This included texting Mr Sunak in an unsuccessful effort to secure coronavirus loans.
Hitting back at the BBC’s report, Sir James wrote in the Daily Telegraph: ‘There were myriad questions, from the technical to medical and compliance.
‘It was in this context that we wrote formally to the Chancellor on March 15 for clarification on how UK tax rules would apply during this period of unprecedented upheaval. Far from concealing the text exchanges, we shared them explicitly with officials at the Treasury and No10 via email on March 28.’
A BBC spokesman said: ‘The BBC has led the way on reporting a significant story which is clearly in the public interest. Sir James Dyson has informed us he is not a prominent Conservative supporter.’
Dyson played a key role during the pandemic, working with scientists and a Cambridge-based Technology Partnership to produce 10,000 ventilators for hospitals across the country.
In messages between the PM and Sir James, the former writes: ‘We are ready. But nobody seems to want us to proceed. Sadly, James.’
Mr Johnson replied saying he will ‘fix it tomorrow’ adding: ‘We need you. It looks fantastic.’
Sir James replied saying: ‘Thanks! I will give the ventilator our all.’
He then adds: ‘Dear Boris, I’m afraid that we need a response to our letter below from Rishi please?
‘We really need Rishi to answer the letter we sent (attached) – now. Or to make the position clear.
‘Rishi has fixed the Country Day Count issue but not Work Days.
‘The former is now covered under an ”Exceptional Circumstances” umbrella, Work Days are not.
‘So, he has freed up your ability to be in the UK but not to work there – even in support of this National emergency.’
Mr Johnson reassured him, writing: ‘James I am first lord of the treasury and you can take it that we are backing you to do what you need.’
Under the ministerial code – a list of rules laying out the conduct expected by ministers – ‘a private secretary or official should be present for all discussions relating to government business’.
Should a conversation happen without an official, ‘any significant content should be passed back to the department as soon as possible after the event’.
It also states that ministers should ‘act and take decisions in an open and transparent manner’ and ‘must act and take decisions impartially, fairly and on merit, using the best evidence and without discrimination or bias’.
It’s costing tens and tens of thousands… I cannot afford it: Boris’s despairing cry to Downing St aides about lavish new decor – as revealed in definitive account of THAT scandal
BY SIMON WALTERS FOR THE DAILY MAIL
Like many of the most explosive political bombshells, the Downing Street flat scandal had a long fuse.
It was fourteen months ago – back in February 2020 – that officials first became alarmed by renovations to the No 11 flat.
They had good reason not to pay too much attention to decorators who had been at work there since the New Year. A dozen or so cases of Covid had been reported in Britain, and the possibility that it could endanger the UK was starting to be taken seriously by some Downing Street officials.
It was fourteen months ago – back in February 2020 – that officials first became alarmed by renovations to the No 11 flat. Pictured: Lulu Lytle’s collection
Mr Johnson was still on a high from his election triumph in December 2019 and had had a Christmas holiday in Mustique in the Caribbean with partner Carrie Symonds – they were still to become engaged.
The couple were overjoyed to learn she was pregnant, though they had not yet shared the news with the rest of the world.
As is now well known, at this stage life-long libertarian Mr Johnson was among those who were less alarmed about the risk of a pandemic.
But he was suddenly alarmed by signs of a political problem closer to home.
They had good reason not to pay too much attention to decorators who had been at work there since the New Year. Pictured: Lulu Lytle’s collection
‘The cost is totally out of control – she’s buying gold wallpaper!’ he is said to have raged to aides.
It is not clear if this was classic Johnson hyperbole – or whether the wallpaper really is gold. In fact, the upmarket interior eco designer Lulu Lytle – whose Soane Britain company was commissioned by Miss Symonds – sells ‘Yellow Gold’ and ‘Old Gold’ wallpaper.
When aides asked him how much it was costing, he said: ‘Tens and tens of thousands – I can’t afford it.’
The Cabinet Office, which is in charge of maintaining the Downing Street estate, told him there was a £30,000-a-year publicly funded allowance for refurbishing the flat.
Mr Johnson would have to pay the rest – £58,000.
‘The cost is totally out of control – she’s buying gold wallpaper!’ he is said to have raged to aides. Pictured: Lulu Lytle’s collection
It led to friction between Miss Symonds and Helen MacNamara, Director General of Propriety and Ethics in the Cabinet Office.
Miss Symonds is said to have urged Mr Johnson to sack Miss MacNamara after she refused to sign off extra money for the flat.
Despite his £150,000-a-year salary as Prime Minister, he is said to struggle to make ends meet as a result of losing an estimated £250,000 a year from his journalistic career as well as an expensive divorce with ex-wife Marina.
By March, Mr Johnson was having to take time out from crisis meetings on the pandemic to deal the issue his advisers called ‘Wallpaper-gate’ – after the 1970s Watergate political scandal in the US that brought down President Richard Nixon.
It is not clear if this was classic Johnson hyperbole – or whether the wallpaper really is gold
In fact, the upmarket interior eco designer Lulu Lytle (designs pictured) – whose Soane Britain company was commissioned by Miss Symonds – sells ‘Yellow Gold’ and ‘Old Gold’ wallpaper
Despite his £150,000-a-year salary as Prime Minister, he is said to struggle to make ends meet as a result of losing an estimated £250,000 a year from his journalistic career as well as an expensive divorce with ex-wife Marina
They started discussing who was going to pay Miss Lytle’s bill – and how.
Tory chairman Ben Elliot, a successful entrepreneur and philanthropist, is more noted for his political connections than his political achievements.
Like Mr Johnson he is an Old Etonian; he is best friends with another Old Etonian Lord (Zac) Goldsmith – more of whom later – and pals with Miss Symonds.
He is also a nephew of the Duchess of Cornwall.
Unlike famous Conservative chairmen of the past such as Norman Tebbit, Mr Elliot prefers to operate behind the scenes in No10 and Tory HQ.
Which is where he began to grapple with ‘Wallpaper-gate’.
Mr Johnson’s first idea was to ask Tory donor Lord Bamford, boss of the JCB construction giant, to pay off the £58,000.
Lord Bamford and his companies have given more than £10million to the Conservatives over the years – and wife Lady Bamford’s Daylesford farm shops delivered healthy meals to No10 after Mr Johnson recovered from Covid.
The Bamford option was dropped, though it is unclear why.
By early June, it is believed the Cabinet Office had paid the entire bill, including the ‘excess’ £58,000.
But it had to be paid back.
Mr Johnson’s team came up with another wheeze: a ‘blind trust’ modelled on the White House Trust used to maintain the US President’s Office.
The official aim was to ‘preserve Downing Street for posterity’ including the State Rooms.
In fact, it seems the real aim was to recoup the £58,000.
The advantage of the ‘blind trust’ would be that the prime minister of the day would not know who had given money to the trust so there could be no conflict of interest.
The proposal was soon abandoned as impractical.
Undeterred, Mr Johnson resolved to set up a different, more open, form of Downing Street trust.
Another multi-millionaire Tory donor, Lord Brownlow, was asked by Mr Johnson to set up the new trust.
It emerged yesterday that former Labour Chancellor Lord (Alistair) Darling turned down an offer in July to lead the trust.
So Lord Brownlow took on the job.
It was around this time that Tory HQ paid £58,000 to the Cabinet Office to clear the debt.
But after being told it could fall foul of Electoral Commission rules which say party funds should be used for political campaigning, the party appears to have panicked.An extraordinary apparent attempt to disguise the payment was launched.
This newspaper has been told that in early October Mr Johnson also discussed his financial woes in No10 with Lord Goldsmith.
Miss Symonds’s appointment in January as head of communications for the Aspinall Foundation, a wildlife charity, was a welcome boost to her and Mr Johnson’s income. A leaked email obtained by the Daily Mail showed that on October 23, Lord Brownlow told Mr Elliot that he had made a £58,000 ‘donation’ to Tory HQ.
He made it clear it was to cover the same sum paid by the party to the Cabinet Office.
He added the £58,000 was to be attributed to the ‘soon-to-be-formed Downing Trust’ – headed by Lord Brownlow himself. Six months later the trust is no nearer to being established.
Cabinet Secretary Simon Case said this week that it could not be used to pay to refurbish either of the two Downing Street flats at numbers 10 and 11 – either now or in the future.
Bearing in mind that was its real, albeit unstated, purpose all along, insiders say the trust will now be ‘quietly dumped.’ Meanwhile, Downing Street now says the refurbishment costs ‘have been met by the Prime Minister personally’, but has not explained how Mr Johnson paid the £58,000.
It is not clear where he got the money from – nor who he has paid it to.
Miss Lytle? The Cabinet Office? Tory HQ? Lord Brownlow? The money trail is not just murky, it is dizzying. Opposition by Mr Johnson’s former chief of staff Dominic Cummings to using donors to pay for the flat was one of the reasons of his acrimonious exit from Downing Street in December.
But this newspaper has been told that when his successor, ex-banker Dan Rosenfield joined No10 in January, he was similarly shocked.
‘He couldn’t believe anyone had allowed such a crazy arrangement to go ahead in the first place – or that so much time had been spent on trying and failing to sort out the mess,’ said a source.
Former Cabinet Secretary Lord O’Donnell said yesterday: ‘Prime ministers have to set an example and should abide by the rules which are there for a good reason. He needs to concentrate on issues like Covid and the way to do that is to abide by the rules.’
In his blistering attack last week Mr Cummings said he told Mr Johnson early last year that the funding of flat makeover was ‘unethical, foolish and possibly illegal.’
Whether you think Cummings is a genius or the devil incarnate, it is hard to disagree that Mr Johnson is guilty on at least one of the three counts.