Wednesday May 12, 2021
Open Debts?
Johnson received an order for payment from the court
While his country is enjoying success in the fight against the coronavirus, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has private problems. Not only is he criticized for the extensive renovation of his official apartment – a payment order for several hundred pounds also raises new questions.
Boris Johnson does not get out of the negative headlines about his personal life. As it has now become known, a court issued an order for payment of 535 pounds – around 623 euros – against the British Prime Minister last October. This emerges from a publicly accessible register. A government spokesman was initially unable to answer whether Johnson owes someone money, and if so, to whom and for what. “It has nothing to do with the renovation of the Downing Street property,” he said simply.
The conservative head of government had had to put up with unpleasant questions about the costly renovation of his official apartment in London’s Downing Street in recent weeks. His former chief adviser Dominic Cummings claimed that the prime minister wanted to finance the renovation with the help of party donations.
The British electoral commission then announced an investigation. Johnson denied any wrongdoing. He said he had paid for the costs himself. He always avoided asking whether there was bridging finance with the help of donations.
The sum of 535 pounds mentioned in the dunning notice is extremely low compared to the cost of converting the official residence. Exact numbers are not known. However, they are said to have far exceeded the 30,000 pounds – around 34,500 euros – available to every prime minister annually for repair work.
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