This (above) says . . . . Conservative Party fined because of PM's Downing Street flat refurbishment please log in to view this image IMAGE Boris and Carrie Johnson live in the flat above 11 Downing Street The Conservative Party has been fined £17,800 for "failing to accurately report a donation" that paid for the refurbishment of the PM's flat. The Electoral Commission also said that the party failed to "keep a proper accounting record" regarding the donation. Over £52,000 was given to the party by Lord Brownlow for the work, initially paid for by the Cabinet Office. A Tory spokesman said that the party was considering whether to appeal and would make a decision within 28 days. Boris Johnson was cleared by his standards adviser earlier this year of breaking conduct rules regarding the funding of the flat refurbishment, but the adviser, Lord Geidt, did conclude that Mr Johnson had "acted unwisely" by not being more "rigorous" in finding out who paid. Doubt has now been cast on this ruling though, as the Electoral Commission's report said that the PM had sent a WhatsApp message to Lord Brownlow in November last year to ask for extra money to go towards the works. Labour's deputy leader, Angela Rayner, said that Mr Johnson "must now explain why he lied to the British public" by claiming that he did not know who paid. She added: "Boris Johnson has taken the British public for fools. He has not only broken the law but made a mockery of the standards that we expect from our prime ministers." A row erupted earlier this year about how the refurbishment of the flat that Boris Johnson shares with his wife, Carrie, above No 11 Downing Street was paid for. The prime minister receives an annual public grant of £30,000 to spend on his living quarters, but there had been speculation that the final bill came to as much as £200,000. Mr Johnson's former chief adviser, Dominic Cummings, claimed that the PM had planned to solve this shortfall by having donors "secretly pay" for the work, but the prime minister insisted that he "covered the costs". Total costs The Electoral Commission, which acts as a watchdog for party funding, launched it's own investigation into how the refurbishment was paid for. Publishing its findings on Thursday, it said that Huntswood Associates Limited, whose director is Tory peer and former Conservative vice chairman, Lord Brownlow, transferred £67,801.72 to the party in October, 2020. The peer told the Commission that while £15,000 went towards covering an event, the remainder went to the Cabinet Office, who had paid three invoices over the summer, totalling £52,801.72, for the refurbishment of the private residence at 11, Downing Street. Lord Brownlow also paid a number of additional invoices relating to the refurbishment directly to suppliers, totalling £59,747.40, making the total cost of the works £112,549.12. The Conservative Party declared the £15,000 event donation in its quarterly donation report to the Commission, but left out the other two sums for the refurbishment. The watchdog concluded that the £52,801.72 should have been declared accurately, rather than as a loan or as part of a trust. The direct payments to suppliers did not need to be declared, as there was no evidence that the party would pay him back or that the sum was covering costs already met by the Tories, but it criticised the party's accounting records connected to the whole incident. As a result, the Conservatives were fined £16,250 for failing to accurately report the full value of the donation from Huntswood Associates, and £1,550 for contravening the requirement to keep proper accounting records. Director of regulation at the Electoral Commission, Louise Edwards, said that the Conservatives did not follow the law. She added: "We know that voters have concerns about the transparency of funding of political parties. Reporting requirements are in place so that the public can see where money is coming from, and inaccurate reporting risks undermining trust in the system. "The party's decisions and actions reflected serious failings in its compliance systems. "As a large and well-resourced political party that employs compliance and finance experts, and that has substantial sums of money going through its accounts, the Conservative Party should have sufficiently robust systems in place to meet it's legal reporting requirements." In response, a Conservative Party spokesman said that it was a "technical breach" of the law. "We have been in constant contact with the Electoral Commission with regards to this matter and have sought their advice as to how the transaction should be reported since it was made. "We are considering whether or not to appeal against this decision, and will make a decision within 28 working days."
So it is not just ‘the clown’ Bozo, who is as corrupt as sh!t - but whole kit & kaboodle of the conservative parliamentary party a load of shysters that don’t give a monkies about ethics, morals and the law.
When Sunderland sign players with no connection to the club, or the area, I don't expect them to care ... ... I just expect them to pretend to care. Same goes with our Government but they can't even manage that ffs.
Cue the Tory Fan boys frantically scouring the internet for another countries Premier doing something similar.
I vote Tory, because my political views are centre-right, but that doesn't mean l can't call the buggers out when they're being ****ers. Which they obviously are ATM. Sadly, Labour are completely ****ing useless and l won't vote for them until the Corbynista element is purged and it's completely back under the control of sensible people.
I’ll second that. A couple of lads on here would vote Labour even if their MP was shagging their missus
I've no idea how poor an incumbent party would have to be for people to see Boris and this lot as a credible electable alternative. The PG Tips chimps would look a decent option the way they're currently performing. The PM is a disaster tbh, his sidesteps are clumsier than Anne Widdecombe on ice.
Yes, I thought that was the case, just trying to be clever. To be fair to people, I think most 'Tory voters' feel a bit deflated at how the PM and cabinet are behaving. Their diversionary patter is so inept they come across as sarky teenagers even if the interviewer is Susanna Reid. She's loving it because the ministers, who they send, make her look like Brazil.
I would say 99% of Tory voters are disillusioned, but if there was another vote they would look at Starmer and then the halfwit Angela Rayner and think na I’ll stick to bonkers
"Proper" Tories like Heath, Thatcher and Major would never behave in such a way. Almost every week another new scandal pops up with Boris playing "Whack A Mole" trying to suppress them. If it wasnt so serious it would almost be funny.
