Boris Johnson failed to disclose key flat refurbishment messages because he had changed his phone number, he told Lord Geidt

22 comments

  1. Exchanges on his old device, including crucial Whatsapp message which was later unearthed by election watchdog, did not transfer over

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    Boris Johnson has told his ethics adviser his failure to disclose key messages regarding the financing of his Downing Street flat refurbishment was because he had recently changed phone numbers.

    The Telegraph understands that the Prime Minister has convinced Lord Geidt, the independent adviser on ministerial standards, that he did not mislead him over his personal involvement in the controversy.

    It is understood that Mr Johnson’s defence for failing to disclose a message between himself and a Tory donor who funded the works was that he had changed his mobile number.

    This meant that previous exchanges on his old device, including a crucial Whatsapp message which was later unearthed by the election watchdog, were not transferred over to his new one.

    It remains unclear as to why this information was not available at the time Lord Geidt made his own enquiries into the flat refurbishment, but was by the time the Electoral Commission launched its own investigation.

    Lord Geidt (below) is said to have partially accepted this explanation and has upheld his original conclusion that Mr Johnson’s conduct relating to the flat renovations did not breach the ministerial code.

    However, he is expected to express his dissatisfaction that the exchanges did not come to light initially and they were not subsequently revealed to him before the Commission’s report was published.

    In a series of letters exchanged with the Prime Minister, which are expected to be published as soon as today, he is also said to make clear that the information would have changed how he wrote his original report in May.

    At the time, Lord Geidt exonerated Mr Johnson of any wrongdoing but noted that he had acted “unwisely”.

    It comes several weeks after this newspaper disclosed that Lord Geidt was on the brink of quitting after the Electoral Commission fined the Conservative Party £17,800 for breaking donation rules over the financing of the Number 11 flat refurbishment.

    The watchdog also unearthed new exchanges between Mr Johnson and Lord Brownlow, a Tory peer, who funded the makeover, which were not disclosed to Lord Geidt during his own earlier inquiry.

    The investigation found Mr Johnson sent Lord Brownlow a WhatsApp message on Nov 29 last year “asking him to authorise further, at that stage unspecified, refurbishment works on the residence”.

    The exchange appeared to call into question Mr Johnson’s assurances to Lord Geidt that he “knew nothing” of the payments until they were reported in the media in February.

    Mr Johnson was forced to change his number in May last year after it was widely shared online.

    It came several weeks after The Telegraph revealed that he had been told by the Cabinet Secretary to change his phone number amid concerns that his previous one was too widely known.

    A well-placed source said at the time that Mr Johnson’s use of the WhatsApp messaging service was a “perennial problem” and had been a source of frustration among some figures in Number 10.

    Downing Street was approached before publication. The Cabinet Office declined to comment.

    *Harry Yorke, Whitehall Editor*

    6 January 2022 • 11:13am

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    **Updated** at 3:28pm:

    mirror link for those who can’t get past paywall: [Lord Geidt accuses No 10 of ‘disrespect’](https://archive.is/g4P9C)

  3. This is even more stupid than the dog ate my homework excuse -.- this guy really thinks he is above the law and thinks all the UK citizens are dumb as shit.

  4. When looking at this you need to recognise that Johnson had every intention of getting the flat done to Carrie’s desire without a penny of the cost of the refurbishment coming out of his pocket, i.e. if he had initially thought he would be paying for any of it himself he would have told Carrie where to get off.

  5. A 10 year old street urchin could come up with a better excuse ‘Sorry your honour it wasn’t me it was my phone’.

    Try that in a court of law and see where it gets you.

    How on earth are these people running the country?

  6. P.S. Lord Geidt is unavailable for further comment as he’s on his new private jet on his way to an all expenses paid holiday in the Maldives before he starts his new 1 hour per month job which pays… etc blah

  7. Whether or not it’s actually true that he changed his phone, the idea that he forgot about that and didn’t think to give Geidt access to the previous phone as well is obviously bollocks.

  9. Why the hell are they using WhatsApp and not something like teams which can be regulated by the IT team? Nothing can be regulated and controlled on that app. It’s controlled by META (facebook) for crying out loud, it’s spyware.

    Also why are they not using emails for official communication. Jesus. Useless twats.

  11. Boris Johnson **clearly** broke the ministerial code. The evidence speaks for itself. Any person or investigation that says otherwise at this point is going to look corrupt and inept.

  12. Another in a long line of laughably implausible lies which Johnson has decided to insult the country and it’s people with.

    Nothing in all my life has done as much to disappoint me in the British people, as their apparent willingness to tolerate this utter cunt as leader.

  13. Did he really just try to “new fone hu dis” his way out of trouble? Does he think we’re all mugs? Fuck it, maybe we are.

  15. Correct me if I’m wrong please someone by my understanding was he said he had no idea of how the refurbishment was being payed and it wasn’t until media reports when he realized.

    However these texts now show Boris now organized it/got the ball rolling, With that his denial that he knew anything about it shows
    A)He lied
    B)He forgot?!

    Am I missing anything?

  16. Many people had his number from when he was writing for the Torygraph. He got into trouble when he became PM for not changing it.

  18. What chance is there that they’ll make him prove the “security issue” that forced him to change phones? I say the security issue is that someone noticed the damning messages on it

  22. Why are people even slightly surprised by this?

    Every MP has a second flat in London, paid for and furnished by the tax payer

    Everything they spend on food, office equipment, travel, staff etc is claimed back on expenses

    The whole system is rotten, these people are so used to spending other peoples money everyday that the idea of paying for anything out of their own pockets is alien to them! They are all “on the take”, milking the system, getting paid consultancy fees and thousands to do after dinner speeches and its not a problem exclusive to any one party either, they are all at it!

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