The “cash for cushions” controversy that called into question the financing of lavish refurbishment works on Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s flat in Downing Street has gained traction in the media days ahead of elections for local councils and mayors in the UK.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan has weighed in on the attempts by Conservative MPs to defend Boris Johnson’s lack of transparency over the funding of his Downing Street flat renovations.
The London mayor, standing for re-election on 6 May, predicted “sleaze” and cronyism would eventually sap the popular support for the government.
‘Tory Sleaze’
Earlier, amid the “cash for cushions” allegations, cited by opponents as just the latest example of “Tory sleaze”, Conservative ministers stated that Boris Johnson “has met the costs” of the renovation work on his official residence above offices at No. 11 Downing Street, declining to discuss what might have happened initially.
Boris Johnson has been under fire amid calls to explain how the lavish renovation was paid for, following allegations from ex-chief adviser Dominic Cummings.
The PM’s former spin doctor, sacked by the prime minister last year, said earlier that his one-time boss had nurtured “unethical, foolish, possibly illegal” plans to get Conservative Party donors to fund refurbishment of the apartment – rumoured to cost around £200,000 – where he resides with his partner, Carrie Symonds, and their son.
Furthermore, a leaked e-mail revealed Tory peer Lord Brownlow had donated £58,000 towards the project, asking it be attributed to a “soon-to-be-formed Downing Street Trust.”
Johnson has denied any wrongdoing, claiming he has since paid for the total cost of the refurbishments, while declining to answer key questions about who paid what and when.
Britain’s Electoral Commission watchdog opened an probe into the now-scandalous refurbishments, saying there were “reasonable grounds to suspect that an offense, or offenses, may have occurred.”
Labour ‘Laying the Foundations’
Elsewhere in his interview for The Guardian, Sadiq Khan reflected on the upcoming local and mayoral elections on 6 May, saying that under Keir Starmer’s leadership, the Labour Party was still “laying the foundations” for its return.
If results prove disheartening, said Khan, it should not be viewed as a sign Starmer had failed. He added that sleaze allegations would eventually take their toll on poll numbers.
London’s Labour mayor is the overwhelming favourite to win a second term.
Sourse: sputniknews.com
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