Boris Johnson urged to explain how the refurbishment of Downing Street flat was paid for

Former attorney general Dominic Grieve has said that Boris Johnson must explain how the refurbishment of his Downing Street flat was paid for.

The Prime Minister’s former top adviser, Dominic Cummings, has accused Mr Johnson of plotting to get Tory donors to pay for the work amid reports he was given a donation of £58,000.

Mr Grieve – a long-standing critic of Mr Johnson – described the Prime Minister as a “vacuum of integrity” who must now come clean.

“It is all smoke and mirrors. He hasn’t said when he decided to repay it or whether he has now repaid it,” he told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme.

“The fact is that he did get, I think it has become quite clear, a significant gift towards the refurbishment of the flat.

“If a minister goes abroad and gets given a gold watch by a foreign he has to hand it back to the Government or he has to buy it back. He doesn’t end up with £58,000 – if that’s figure – for refurbishing your private flat in Downing Street.

“My impression is there has been constant wriggling about the source of the money for this refurbishment.”