The Prime Minister apologised for not disclosing relevant messages between himself and tory donor Lord Brownlow, claiming he changed his number and hadn’t seen the messages, following a review into ‘wallpaper gate’.
The messages read:
Boris Johnson:
“Hi David
I am afraid parts of our flat are still a bit of a tip and am keen to allow Lulu Lytle to get on with it. Can I possibly ask her to get in touch with you for approvals?
Many thanks and all the best
Boris
Ps am on the great exhibition plan Will revert”Lord Brownlow:
“Afternoon Prime Minister, I hope you’re both well
Sorry for the delay I was out for a walk and didn’t have my ‘work’ phone with me.
Of course, get Lulu to call me and we’ll get it sorted ASAP !
Thanks for thinking about GE2
Best Wishes
David”“I should have said, as the Trust isn’t set up yet (will be in January) approval is a doddle as it’s only me and I know where the £ will come from, so as soon as Lulu calls we can crack on – David”
Lulu Lytle is an interior designer based in London. Lord Brownlow initially provided the funding for the PM’s flat renovations. Some argue the messages indicate Brownlow’s funding of the flat was getting him exclusive access to the Prime Minister to push for his idea of a “Great Exhibition 2.0”.
Labour stated:
“Lord Brownlow appears to have access to the prime minister because he was paying for the flat renovations. If that is the case, that is corruption”.
Boris Johnson claimed not to have seen the messages, stating that he had updated his mobile number due to “security issues”.
The Prime Minister issued a “humble and sincere” apology to his standards advisor, Lord Geidt, for not revealing the messages when he investigated the flat’s funding last year.
Lord Geidt said that the failure to declare the messages had “dented public faith in the government”.
