Boris Johnson dodges question of who initially paid for Downing Street renovation

Boris Johnson repeatedly dodged questions in parliament over who initially paid for the £88,000 refurbishment of his Downing Street flat, failing to deny that some of the money came from Tory donor Lord Brownlow.

In a stormy session of prime minister’s questions just an hour after the Electoral Commission announced it was launching an investigation into the controversial reft, Keir Starmer asked the PM four times to say who originally paid the costs beyond the £30,000 covered by the taxpayer.

But Mr Johnson failed to answer the question, instead telling the House of Commons that he had now paid the bill himself.