(Alliance News) - Boris Johnson's refurbishment of his Downing Street flat will be investigated by the Electoral Commission as the watchdog said it is satisfied there are "reasonable grounds to suspect that an offence or offences may have occurred".
The prime minister's troubles over the renovations dramatically deepened on Wednesday when the commission said it would begin a "formal investigation" to see if any rules had been broken.
Questions have been mounting for Johnson since former aide Dominic Cummings accused him of wanting donors to "secretly pay" for the renovations to his Number 11 residence in a "possibly illegal" move.
Downing Street has refused to say whether Johnson received an initial loan from the Conservative Party to cover renovations to the flat at No 11.
An Electoral Commission spokesperson said: "We have been in contact with the Conservative Party since late March and have conducted an assessment of the information they have provided to us.
"We are now satisfied that there are reasonable grounds to suspect that an offence or offences may have occurred. We will therefore continue this work as a formal investigation to establish whether this is the case.
"The investigation will determine whether any transactions relating to the works at 11 Downing Street fall within the regime regulated by the commission and whether such funding was reported as required.
"We will provide an update once the investigation is complete. We will not be commenting further until that point."
source: PA
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