Boris Johnson backs away from Big Ben Brexit bong extravaganza: 'There are potential difficulties'

PM's spokesman says Johnson is focused on 'events the government is planning to mark 31 January'

Boris Johnson appears to have backed away from expensive plans to make Big Ben bong to mark the moment Brexit happens, with No 10 citing “potential difficulties”.

It comes after the prime minister spoke about the prospect of the public being able to raise money for the cost of making Big Ben chime at 11pm on 31 January to mark the UK’s legal exit from the European Union.

“We’re working up a plan so people can bung a bob for a Big Ben bong, because there are some people who want to,” Mr Johnson said during a BBC interview earlier this week.

But on Thursday, the prime minister’s official spokesman said: “The House of Commons authorities have set out that there may be potential difficulties in accepting money from public donations.

“The PM’s focus is on the events which he and the government are planning to mark January 31 and its significant moment in our history, and we want to ensure that’s properly recorded.”

A Downing Street spokesman later declined several times to say whether Mr Johnson would apologise to voters who had contributed money on the basis of his comments. By Thursday afternoon, crowdfunding appeals had collected more than £110,000 towards the potential cost of making Big Ben chime on 31 January.

Earlier, the shadow leader of the Commons, Valerie Vaz, said the suggestion that the cost of Big Ben bonging to mark the UK’s legal exit from the EU could be covered by public donations would be an “unprecedented approach”.

“Any novel form of funding would need to be considered with principles of propriety and proper oversight of public expenditure – I wonder if the leader of the House could pass that on to the prime minister,” she added.

Big Ben has been silent since 2017, with renovations ongoing, but some Brexiteers have called for the work to be paused so the bell can ring at an estimated cost of £500,000.

The House of Commons Commission, responsible for managing the parliamentary estate, voiced caution over the plans, saying that bringing the bell back into use during “essential re-flooring work on the belfry could result in huge costs” to the public purse.

Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the speaker of the House, said: “The commission believes it is important to weigh up the costs this would involve if Big Ben is to chime on 31 January. You are talking about £50,000 a bong.

“We also have to bear in mind that the only people who will hear it will be those who live near or are visiting Westminster.”

But hardline Brexiteer MP Mark Francois, who has promised £1,000 towards the fund, told ITV’s Good Morning Britain: “It seems to me and many of my colleagues in the House of Commons patently daft that we have got the most iconic clock in the world – literally, it’s a world heritage site – that that should stay silent on this occasion.”

He claimed the costs were “massively exaggerated” because “officials in the House of Commons just don’t want to do it”.