(Alliance News) - UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson insisted he has not broken any laws over the refurbishment of his Downing Street flat after the Electoral Commission launched a formal investigation.
The watchdog said there are "reasonable grounds" to suspect an offence may have occurred, dramatically deepening the prime minister's troubles over the renovations on Wednesday.
Downing Street said Johnson would be "happy" to assist the commission with its inquiries into who initially paid for the work carried out in his No 11 residence.
Questions have been mounting since former aide Dominic Cummings accused Johnson of wanting donors to "secretly pay" for the renovations to the apartment in a "possibly illegal" move.
Shortly after the commission's announcement, Johnson told Prime Minister's Questions he "personally" paid for the renovations, but refused to answer whether he received an initial loan from the Tory party.
Challenged by Labour leader Keir Starmer over the "incredibly serious" development, Johnson told MPs that "any further declaration that I have to make, if any" will be advised by his newly appointed independent adviser on ministers' interests.
Starmer pressed the prime minister on whether he believes any "rules or laws have been broken" over the refurbishment of the flat.
"No, I don't," Johnson replied, adding that he has "met the requirements that I have been obliged to meet in full".
During the angry exchange in the Commons, the prime minister was also forced to deny having said he would rather see "bodies pile high" than impose a third coronavirus lockdown.
The questioning came less than an hour after the Electoral Commission announced its investigation into whether any financial transaction related to the renovations was properly declared.
"We are now satisfied that there are reasonable grounds to suspect that an offence or offences may have occurred," a statement from the watchdog said, after it conducted an assessment of information provided by the Tories late last month.
"We will therefore continue this work as a formal investigation to establish whether this is the case."
Crucially, the watchdog said the investigation will "determine whether any transactions relating" to the renovations "fall within the regime regulated by the commission and whether such funding was reported as required".
The Conservative Party said it would "continue to work constructively" with the commission.
"We believe all reportable donations have been transparently and correctly declared and published by the Electoral Commission," a spokesman said.
The commission can issue fines of up to GBP20,000, with most offences under the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 resulting in a civil sanction. But it can also refer investigations to the police or prosecutors.
Investigators can demand documents, information and explanations, and could potentially seek a statutory interview with the prime minister as part of the process.
Asked if Johnson is willing to be questioned in person, his press secretary said the commission's investigation was a matter for the Conservative Party and the prime minister "will of course be happy to assist if asked".
The announcement came as Christopher Geidt, former private secretary to the Queen, was appointed as the new independent adviser on ministers' interests and immediately launched his own investigation into the flat.
The post has been vacant since Alex Allan resigned in November in response to Johnson standing by Home Secretary Priti Patel despite an investigation finding her conduct "amounted to behaviour that can be described as bullying".
The appointment of the new adviser paves the way for the publication of the latest register of ministerial interests, which could contain details of any donations to fund the flat.
However, the prime minister's official spokesman said Johnson will remain the "ultimate arbiter" of whether the ministerial code has been broken, even if the investigation centres on himself.
Labour has accused Johnson of having "lied" over the funding, and accused senior members of the government of a possible "cover-up" as ministers battled a series of "sleaze" allegations.
Prime ministers get a budget of up to GBP30,000 per year to renovate their Downing Street residency, but newspaper reports have suggested Johnson has spent up to GBP200,000.
Last week, the Daily Mail published details of an email from Tory peer David Brownlow in which he said he was making a GBP58,000 donation to the party "to cover the payments the party has already made on behalf of the soon-to-be-formed 'Downing Street Trust'".
Johnson was also facing pressure over allegedly saying in October he would rather see "bodies pile high" than impose a third coronavirus lockdown.
Starmer challenged the prime minister on the remarks, asking for a categoric "yes or no" as to whether he made comments to that effect.
"No," Johnson responded.
At a Downing Street press conference, Health Secretary Matt Hancock dodged questions about the Electoral Commission investigation.
"I know that the prime minister answered lots of questions about this in the House of Commons earlier," he said.
"And given that this is a coronavirus press conference, you won't be surprised that I'm not going to add to the answers the prime minister has given."
Asked by the PA news agency if he had ever heard Johnson saying he would rather let coronavirus "rip" or see bodies pile high than order another lockdown, Hancock said: "No I didn't."
source: PA
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